An Update on Informup

Mayor Corey O'Connor was sworn in this past Monday which took the place of the City Council's regularly scheduled meetings. We wanted to take this time to update you on our plans for the new year and include a sample of things to come.

County Council & School Board

In the coming weeks, we plan to expand our coverage to the Pittsburgh Public School Board and the Allegheny County Council. These meetings will be in their own newsletters to help keep things organized, and they'll be included with existing subscriptions to Pittsburgh City Council. As you'll see below, the issues discussed in the school board affect Pittsburgh city residents, even if you don't have kids in PPS.

Resident feedback is still our focus.

This year we've shared over 2,500 survey responses with Pittsburgh City Council members, and by the end of the year, every survey had responses from all nine council districts. The whole reason we do our reporting is so that we can support informed residents driving more informed decisions by their elected officials. We'll continue to do just that, sharing reader survey responses with school board and county council members.

A sample of reader feedback from the last year

• 36% are concerned about their ability to afford living in the city after tax increases from the city, school board, and county.
• 77% believe that council should not approve contracts before the cost to residents has been established.
• 46% strongly oppose Pittsburgh declaring itself a sanctuary city
• 45% strongly support Pittsburgh declaring itself a sanctuary city

Finally, as we gear up to expand our coverage, we've started drafting articles on school board and county council meetings. The December school board meeting was a big one, so we thought we would go ahead and share it here. Stay tuned for more regular reporting, and Happy New Year!

PPS board approves 2% property tax increase, strict cell phone and photo ban

Top Agenda Items

• Pittsburgh Public Schools approves 2% property tax hike, adding ~$13 / year for the average homeowner
• Cell phones and taking pictures banned during school day at all Pittsburgh Public Schools starting this fall

Pittsburgh Public Schools approves 2% property tax hike, adding ~$13/ year for the average homeowner

The Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) board approved its 2026 budget, including a 2% property tax increase, with a 6 to 3 vote during a legislative meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

School officials referred to this decision as "budget neutral."

Board directors Dwayne Barker of Perry Hilltop, Tawana Cook Purnell of East Liberty and Tracey Reed of Greenfield voted not to approve the $731.3 million budget with this increase.

The change will move property tax rates from 1.025% to 1.045%, bringing in about $3.4 million for the district. This could bring the school closer to resolving its $6 million deficit, according to board president Gene Walker of Brighton Heights.

The amount was decided that morning, as the initially proposed 4% increase would have violated state Homestead and Farmstead laws, according to PPS Chief Financial Officer Ronald Joseph. The board was unaware of this conflict until they received last minute calculations from the county.

Walker said no school services are set for decreased funding, though there may be pay increases for vacant positions to entice qualified candidates.

He stated these changes should cost the average Pittsburgh homeowner an additional $13 each year. On a house assessed at $100,000 the additional tax will be $20.70.

Walker said decisions involving the budget are "always a challenge for [the board]."

"It's hard to say that asking people to pay more money, even when it's less than it was supposed to be, is a relief," Walker said.

Cell phones, taking photos banned during school day at all Pittsburgh Public Schools starting this fall

There will be no selfies in science class, no Instagram in algebra, and no SnapChat in social studies in the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) in the next school year.

Cell phone usage and possession during the school day will be banned in PPS starting this fall. Additionally, students may not take, store, transfer, share or view any photograph, image or video of anyone on school property.

The PPS board unanimously approved this new policy during a legislative meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

Students can bring cell phones or personal electronic devices to school, but must turn them in at the start of each day, the new policy said.

Previous legislation allowed each PPS school to regulate cell phones on its own. Pennsylvania law similarly does not prohibit cell phones statewide.

Violations of the new rule will result in disciplinary action for the student, including the possible confiscation of their device.

The superintendent or a school's principal can grant exceptions to this rule in unique circumstances, such as an emergency, an individualized education plan (IEP) or as part of a classroom activity. Exceptions may also apply for medical reasons.

The new policy claimed that the school will annually notify students of this change and its exceptions.

A proposed version of the document, attached to the meeting agenda, included questions about the logistics of this change. The questions, verbatim, read:

• Should schools hold phones?
• Honor system or turn into teachers?
• How to monitor?
• Cost of purchase/rental of phones bags?

These questions were not addressed during the meeting nor in the final draft of the resolution

"The District shall not be liable for the loss, damage or misuse of any electronic device brought to school by a student," the policy also noted.