Council Rock can have great schools without unrelenting tax increases
My family came to America in the early 1800s and settled in New Jersey. In 2019, after multiple generations, I left New Jersey. My husband and I were living in Hunterdon County just over the river from Pennsylvania. We could practically see it from our front door: lower taxes and the land of the free. We left New Jersey because it is not a place to retire; the taxes eat you alive and the regulations are out of control.
When we arrived in Upper Makefield we were thrilled. It is such a beautiful area with so much history along with many amenities, places to shop and eat. We even cut our tax burden almost in half. Unfortunately, in only a few short years of being here, it has become apparent that Upper Makefield is quickly becoming New Jersey, at least in regards to taxes. Our ever increasing school taxes caused me to become deeply involved.
Our local elections are fast approaching on November 4. Traditionally, local elections have extremely low turnout, which is shocking considering the impact that they have on our community. Our district attorney and sheriff are both up for reelection and their opponents are right out of Philadelphia with (cashless bail and soft on crime policies). In addition, our Bucks County judges and row officers, a local township supervisor, and school board positions are on the ballot. The outcome of the November 4 election will have a profound impact on our lives in the near and foreseeable future.
School Board positions are a great example of the consequences of an election. Our schools are our largest tax liability. Although Council Rock School District schools have a good reputation, they are not what they used to be. A review of Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) scores for Council Rock shows student scores have been flat or going down since 2017. At the same time, our school taxes have gone up dramatically. Council Rock School Board has increased taxes every year for the past three years. The most recent increase for 2025-26 is planned to be 2.93%. The current budget for 2025-2026 is $292 million, with a $6.9 million deficit. If you divide the current number of students into this budget, it equates to just under a $28,000 cost per student. To put that number in perspective, 2025 tuition at The College of New Jersey, a reputable state school, is $19,632 for in-state students and $25,727 for out of state students.
I spent my career in insurance, and from the early 1980s onward the mantra was “do more with less”; work smarter and always within budgets. Fiscal responsibility and accountability were necessary and mandated. Why is it that our Democrat-controlled school board never “got the memo.” Currently, there is no transparency, and no regard for the fiscal and fiduciary duty of the board to spend money wisely. Additionally, in a 2025 May school board meeting it was revealed that the board in a closed-door financial session had been discussing adopting Policy 605.1. School boards are taxing authorities. Policy 605.1 is based upon the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling Valley Forge Towers Apartments N, LP v. Upper Merion School District and, if adopted, it gives the school board the authority to initiate tax appeals against individual homeowners where it is determined that a property is “under assessed” for tax purposes, no matter from a recent sale or not.
We can have great schools without this continued and unrelenting increase in taxes. If the current tax-and-spend trend continues, those people on a fixed income will be forced to leave. The added tax burden will negatively impact young families, and ultimately the continued march of ever-increasing taxes will reduce the value of our homes because the tax burden added on top of the value of the homes will make our homes unaffordable. We cannot allow Upper Makefield to become New Jersey.
Council Rock School Board candidate Hedy Ranieri, a retired insurance executive with extensive experience in finance, litigation, risk management, controlling budgets, regulatory compliance, audits, and internal controls, lives in Upper Makefield Township.
