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MASD: ‘Healthy Fund Balance’ is Good News

School board president: ‘We’re not going to increase taxes’

By Adam Reinherz
The Tube City Almanac
January 11, 2026
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

School Board President David Seropian (center) said McKeesport Area School District needs to remain caution but that the system’s finances are currently “healthy.” (Adam Reinherz photo for Tube City Almanac)

The school board president says the fund balance for McKeesport Area School District is “healthy” and there are plans to raise taxes in the near future.

At the district’s Jan. 8 agenda meeting, school board President David Seropian praised the district’s financial status, but cautioned against hubris.

“We're doing really well right now, but we have a lot of things coming up, like the high school renovation, things that are going to cost money, so we have to be careful with our finances,” he said.

While discussing the Taxpayer Relief Act for 2026-2027, MASD’s business manager Joe Villella noted, each year, the state calculates the market value of local properties versus personal income; the state then determines a percentage through a formula, and if the school board were to raise taxes beyond that percentage, which is 5.2%, a public vote would be required.

The district sees no reason to hold that vote “at this time,” he said. “Currently, we have a healthy fund balance, and we feel we have sufficient funds to carry us up into next year.”

In March, Peter J. Vancheri, an accountant and partner at Hosack, Specht, Muetzel & Wood, told school directors an independent audit of the district revealed a “healthy fund balance” of approximately $24.5 million, with $17.9 million assigned and $6.5 million unassigned.

While renovations and other projects will eat into the balance, the district will not be offsetting those costs by increasing residents’ financial burdens, Seropian said: “We’re not going to increase taxes.”

Adam Reinherz is a Pittsburgh-based journalist. He can be reached at adam.reinherz@gmail.com.

Originally published January 11, 2026.

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