PA. SCHOOL DISTRICTS Property tax case goes back to court

The state school boards association argued districts can appeal assessments.
PALMERTON, Pa. (AP) -- In a case with implications for all 501 school districts in Pennsylvania, a state appeals court will decide the matter of a Carbon County homeowner whose property tax was nearly doubled because a school district successfully appealed their assessment.
Raymond and Kathleen Vees bought 85 acres in Towamensing Township in April 2002 for $170,000. County tax records had assigned the property a value of $90,000, meaning it had a tax assessment of $45,000, or half the market value.
The Palmerton Area School District challenged the assessment, and the Carbon County Board of Assessment Appeals increased the assessment from $45,000 to $80,950.
Lost first appeal
After losing their first appeal, the couple took the case to Commonwealth Court. Their lawyer, retired Bucks County Judge Leonard B. Sokolove, argued it was unfair for his clients to pay more tax than people with comparable property.
No date has been set for arguments.
In a brief filed with the court, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association argued that school districts are within their rights to appeal assessments.
"For school districts across Pennsylvania, property tax revenue is the oxygen that school districts must have in order to function," PSBA attorney Sean A. Fields wrote. Fields said state law gives school districts and municipalities the right to file appeals.
William Schwab, the lawyer representing Palmerton Area, said the case applies to all 501 school districts in the state.
About 1,200 appeals were filed in Carbon County last year; about 80 percent of them came from school districts. Successful appeals added $15.5 million in assessed value to the county's tax base, generating $900,000 more in taxes for schools, municipalities and the county.