School District Discriminated in Tax Appeals, State Court Finds

The property tax assessments a school district chose to appeal was discriminatory because the policy it used to identify properties to appeal was implemented arbitrarily, a Pennsylvania appeals court held.

Property tax assessments are a source of revenue for the district. Seeking more revenue, the Downington Area School District established a policy to appeal property tax assessments that could potentially generate an additional $10,000 in revenue, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania said.

However, other properties the district didn’t select, if reevaluated, could have probably met the $10,000 threshold, the Oct. 6 opinion said. The $10,000 threshold was also unfair to ...