As anticipated, Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board directors again voted for a budget that will raise property taxes in the district. There was no discussion or debate during the June 17 meeting. The vote was 8-0 with Director Gregg Lindner absent.
The $90.26 million budget calls for real estate taxes in Chester County municipalities to be 29.16 mills — $2.916 per hundred dollars of assessed property value, and 25.71 mills — $2.571 per hundred dollars of assessed value — in Chadds Ford Township, the lone Delaware County municipality in the district.
Last year’s millage rates were 28.51 mils for Chester County property owners and 25.15 mils for property owners in Chadds Ford.
Tax bills are to be dated July 1 of this year and are payable within four months. There will be a 2 percent discount if the tax is paid within two months, but a penalty of 7.5 percent will be levied if not paid by Oct. 31, 2019.
While there was no discussion on the budget the night of the vote, there was a discussion on a proposal to sell stadium ads to Premier Orthopedics for $4,200. Premier will also upgrade the press box. The contract is for one year and may be renegotiated after that 12-month period.
Director Tom Day said he’s always been in favor of the idea but was on the fence about his reasoning. Yet he likes the idea of funding an upgrade to the press box this way rather than having the district pay for it with tax dollars, even though he doesn’t like how an ad on the face of the press box would look.
“We’ve had many robust discussions and debates on the long-range plan and we heard from many constituents who expressed concerns. My concern is that if we vote to fund it with district funds now, it almost flies in the face of the conversations we’ve had over the past year,” Day said.
Fellow Director John Murphy said he was in favor because volunteers went out on their own to find a sponsor and that it’s difficult to find “non-taxpaying dollars.”
“For us to turn it down,” Murphy said, “would be a poor fiduciary process on our part.”
Murphy added that there are already advertising signs at the stadium and announcements urging people to support those sponsors.
Director Robert sage commented earlier in the meeting that he was concerned about an appearance of a conflict of interest. The district contracts for a doctor from Premier for its student-athletes. But Murphy said the doctor’s professional ethics and parental concerns would not allow anyone to be swayed to think they would have to go to Premier.
“I think it’s a good synergy of a local medical organization willing to support us and to sponsor us,” Murphy added.
The motion passed 7-1. Voting no was Board President Jeff Hellrung who said his understanding that the press box upgrade would be funded by donations, not advertising.
“For me, funding it 50 percent from the sale of advertising is not the same as a donation,” he said.
Hellrung added that he thinks the district has “crossed a threshold” by selling an ad that’s 18 feet by 3 feet across the press box facade. … I’m committed to the press box project and had it been on the agenda to be fully funded by the district, I would be in favor of that as well.”
The board also voted to spend $55,000 for stop-arm cameras on 45 school buses. That vote, too, was 8-0. Hellrung said he was glad for the decision because the cameras will take photos of the license plates of vehicles that pass stopped buses when the stop arms are extended.
“I’m very pleased that we have this technology available,” Hellrung said.
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
