School districts across Pennsylvania are no doubt elated about the new state budget providing at least a 2 percent increase in basic education subsidies.

Butler, Mars, Seneca Valley, Slippery Rock, Freeport and the South Butler school districts each will receive a 2 percent increase, while Moniteau and Karns City will receive increases of 2.6 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

Allegheny-Clarion Valley's basic subsidy will increase by 4.5 percent over the 2003-04 fiscal year.

But while the increased subsidies will be welcomed on the school district front in Butler County and throughout the rest of the state, they also should positively impact school tax payers' wallets and pocketbooks. The higher subsidies can do that in a couple of ways.

Districts that have voted to increase taxes for the 2004-05 fiscal year should, once they learn the exact amount of their increase, reopen their budgets and reduce the tax increases by the amount of the additional money. If those districts felt capable of operating with the money their budgets currently encompass, they shouldn't need to plug more spending into the new fiscal year simply on the basis of their newly approved, higher subsidy.

Meanwhile, districts that voted to hold the line on taxes for 2004-05 should either reduce their tax millage or apply the additional subsidy money to bolster their budgetary reserve fund, if they dipped into their reserve money substantially to avoid a tax increase for this fiscal year, which began July 1.

Reopening of school budgets for the purpose of applying higher subsidies than had been anticipated isn't unheard-of in Pennsylvania. It happened in the past and and now must happen again.

Barring an unanticipated financial emergency, it would be irresponsible for school districts simply to deposit the additional money in the bank or vote to spend it, without providing taxpayers any benefits from the subsidy increase.

With the General Assembly and Gov. Ed Rendell having fashioned a compromise on legalizing slot machines at 14 sites in the state, the commonwealth's taxpayers are going to be watching how their real-estate taxes will be affected by the gambling expansion. Slots have been touted as the way to reduce property taxes by an average 20 percent.

Taxpayers also will be watching whether lawmakers and the Rendell administration will be able to accumulate a 2004-05 end-of-year surplus higher than the $637 million surplus recorded for 2003-04 - and if that eventually can impact them in the form of a lower state income tax.

Like the reopening of school budgets, lowering of the income levy also has happened before in this state.

Based on the past weekend's actions in the state capital, the immediate onus is on the school districts to "give something back" to the taxpayers, even if the giveback is small.

School districts should be planning that action for as soon as it is practicable to move ahead.

- J.R.K.