Carlynton School Board proposed
FY 25-26 Budget
Budget Highlights
Page 2: total budget
Page 3-4: revenue from real estate taxes, delinquent taxes, local, state, and federal resources [unknown whether federal funding is reliable at this point]
Summary of where the money is coming from:
Local: a total of about $24 million (mostly real estate taxes, just under $19 million) roughly 65%
State: not quite $11.8 million (roughly 32%)
Federal: a little over $1.3 million (roughly 4%)
For comparison, here’s what our schools and our community were able to count on in 1990:
Local: 5%
State: 50%
Federal: 45%
In summary, the sources of funding are now standing on their head compared what they were in 1990. In other words, our school district and our community are between a rock and a hard place.
One more point of interest: charter school tuition takes a big bite out of our district’s budget. Charter schools advertise free tuition, but they actually do charge tuition. By state law, it is taken directly out of our school district’s budget. Although we can’t identify a specific line item identified as charter school fees in this document, it has been estimated to total approximately one mil.
PA House Democrats have been trying for years to change this, but the Republican dominated PA Senate keeps voting it down. If we hold the PA House and flip the PA Senate, we might get some property tax relief related to this school district budget issue.
Voter Greeters
On Election Day, it’s a lot of fun seeing voters’ faces light up when we greet them with a smile and a simple, “Hi, thanks for coming to vote.”
Are you someone who enjoys going to the poll and voting on Election Day?
Maybe you make it a family affair, bringing your kids along to teach them how important voting is?
Maybe you are concerned about our democracy’s future if citizens lose heart about voting?
If so, we have a volunteer opportunity for you!
We have openings for Voter Greeter volunteers to just thank people for voting on Election Day.
Priority shifts are: 7-10AM, noon to 3PM, and 5-8PM.
Polls to be covered are: Carnegie Borough Building, Carnegie Library, and Ukrainian-American Citizens Club.
If you can give a few hours of your time at your poll on Election Day, please contact us.
Democratic Welcome Wagon Volunteer
When people move to a new home, they are so busy that they often forget to update their voter registration.
Between now and the next election, our Democratic Welcome Wagon Volunteers will be reaching out to people, in homes that have sold since the last election, to welcome them to our neighborhoods and offer voter registration information so that they will be eligible to vote in the November election.
If you are a registered Democratic voter in Carnegie and enjoy welcoming new neighbors, we would love to hear from you! Contact us.
Tips for Safe & Effective Canvassing
- If this is your first time, go with an experienced partner.
- Plan to go out for 1-2 hours during daylight hours, preferably between 11AM and 4PM.
- The best place to knock doors is your own neighborhood. It helps to have a list of registered voters and their party affiliation.
- Never go inside a home, or go where you can’t be seen from the street.
- Respect no trespassing, no soliciting signs.
- Prepare one sentence to introduce yourself & explain why you are on their doorstep.
- If you have literature to leave behind, never put it in a mail box—campaigns can get in trouble for that.
- Most people will not answer their doors—if they have a Ring doorbell, speak to it.
- Don’t argue–listen to their concerns.
- If you share their concerns, say so, and why your candidate is the best choice to address them.
- If you used to share those concerns, and now feel differently because of your candidate, say so, and say why.
- At the end of your shift, review your experiences and what you learned. Share as appropriate with campaigns and on social media.
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