LANSDALE- The North Penn School District Board of Directors held a work session meeting Tuesday evening where Director of Business Administration Mr. Stephen Skrocki presented a Property and Real Estate Tax Rebate Program presentation to members of the School Board.

Skrocki discussed his proposal for North Penn to implement the program which piggybacks off of the pre-existing state program. The PA Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program is administered by the PA Department of Revenue and is funded from lottery and slot proceeds. There’s a household income limit of $35,000 and a lower limit for renters. To be eligible for the program, one must be 65 years or older, a widow or widower that is 50 years or older, or 18 years or older and permanently disabled. The program states that the maximum household rebate is $650 and supplemental rebates for qualifying homeowners can boost rebates to $975. Regarding income, the sliding scale is based on total income, all income is counted, and half of Social Security income is counted.

Skrocki presented a case study and showed Penn Manor’s success with the program since they started it in 2006. Penn Manor only issues rebates to property owners with documentation and application submitted to the district. Penn Manor has a maximum rebate of $650 based on a maximum of $15,000 income. There are no supplements and about $80,000 in rebates per year.

Skrocki presented a recommendation for property owners only with no supplements and 25% of granted base state rebate. This may be increased in the future and is with a maximum budget of $137,391.

Skrocki then turned to the Board for discussion where several Board members posed questions about the program. In addition, several Board members expressed their approval of the program. The Board agreed to move the proposal forward and it has been placed on the agenda for next Thursday. The next School Board meeting will be an action meeting on October 19th at 7:30 PM at the Educational Service Center.