Scranton School Board passes budget with tax hike; will not hold hearing to close Adams
Dec. 13—SCRANTON — The Scranton School Board will move forward with potentially closing William Prescott or Charles Sumner elementary schools.
On a night that also included the passage of the 2023 budget that raises property taxes 3.4% and converts to the payroll tax, directors decided to schedule a public hearing for the two buildings. The hearing — a necessary but preliminary step before a closure — is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 4.
The board will not hold a hearing for John Adams at this time, which would push any potential closure of the Pine Brook school into the future.
Having the hearing for Prescott and Sumner means the board could vote in April to close both, one or neither of the schools. Meanwhile, the district may assess school boundaries citywide and reexamine options.
Three directors — Danielle Chesek, Ty Holmes and Sean McAndrew — sought to not hold any public hearings. Ro Hume, in her first meeting as president, took an informal poll in the committee meeting to decide what schools will have a hearing.
Chesek said she fears more people will leave the city and district if more neighborhood schools close, and Holmes said the district should not work against the city's efforts to increase population.
Additional options presented to the board by administration officials Tuesday included closing Adams and splitting students among Armstrong, Morris and Prescott schools; or closing Prescott and splitting students between Morris and Adams. If Sumner closed, students would be sent to Willard and Tripp.
The district's financial recovery plan calls for reconfiguring schools and decreasing the number of empty seats. Chief Recovery Officer Candis Finan, Ed.D., would not say during the meeting whether she would attempt to override the board if directors chose to keep all schools open.
2023 budget
The $216.5 million budget passed with a 6-3 vote, with Chesek, Holmes and McAndrew voting against it.
"We are taxing our families out of the district and out of the city," McAndrew said.
Without the state providing fair funding to Scranton, Holmes said he will vote against any tax increase because city property owners should not have to make up the difference.
The 3.4% property tax increase equates to a 4.8 mill-increase, bringing total mills to 147.8. The owner of a property assessed at $10,000 will pay an additional $48 next year. A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of assessed property value.
The budget also moves from the business privilege/mercantile tax to the payroll tax adopted by the city last year.
Other business
Director Katie Gilmartin will no longer be the board's representative on the joint operating committee of the Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County. With a 6-3 vote, the board replaced Gilmartin with McAndrew. Gilmartin said she had expected to be nominated to serve as president of the CTC board later this month.
McAndrew, whose uncle is a culinary instructor at the school, said the relationship would have no impact on his decisions and that he was interested to learn more about the CTC. Gilmartin, Sarah Cruz and Catherine Fox voted against his appointment.
The district will no longer have Glenna Hazeltine, an attorney with its law firm, as temporary director of the special education department. Ann Genett, a longtime district employee, will now serve as acting director of special education, with a salary of $117,310. The district will continue to seek a permanent appointee.
Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9133; @hofiushallTT on Twitter.
