Photos by Jessica N. Rex Pictured is Eric Berry returning to the podium after another member of the group allotted Berry his time.

The Residents of Warren County Against Inflated Property Assessments is making it clear to Warren County School Board members they aren’t happy with the countywide reassessment.

Members also made clear at this week’s school board meeting that they’re not going anywhere now that the reassessments are being finalized.

Eric Berry, the group’s administrator, has been leading the group at weekly public meetings and helping people understand and file appeals to their property assessments. He talked about how the group has been digging into a lot of information especially since the reassessment was done and when the attorneys were hired from the district to attempt to sue the county.

Berry said in 2024 the Pittsburgh School District tried to do the same thing to Allegheny County but the court case was dismissed. Berry said the judge didn’t want to hear anything about it because it was a court case for financial gain. Another county in the state, Schuylkill County, has a similar case currently going on where residents are doing the same thing.

Vision Government Solutions Company has been used for both Schuylkill and Warren counties. Berry said one problem is that the company uses an artificial intelligence algorithm system that is not local, but used nationally.

Roughly 2700 people filed during the first appeal and, while the numbers are not known yet for the second appeal, the group believes that many residents are simply not aware they could appeal their new tax assessments.

A survey was done from the decisions made from the first appeal where 60% were somewhat satisfied and 40% were not satisfied, possibly because their taxes were unchanged. It is recognized that reassessment has not been done since 1989, so it is necessary. However, the group is fighting a third party doing the reassessment due to what it terms overinflation.

“I had an auditor go through the 2025-2026 financial budget and it shows that the school district’s long term indebtedness is over $115 million,” Berry said. “The bond debt in itself is $86 million. And your employment benefit debt is $26 million. As my auditor went through your final budget, this auditor advised me that you’re at almost a $90 million deficit. But, we want to know why? We want to know where you are putting this money? Our tax payer money. Now you have forced the hand of the commissioners to do a reassessment.”

Pointing to members from his group that were present, Berry said that they are property owners and many are senior citizens on a fixed income.

Making note that the WCSD ranks at the bottom 50% of the PA school districts, Berry said the group wants to know why money is being spent, suggesting that some cuts are needed.

Berry said trying to put Attorney David Bauer as a possibility for the district’s new solicitor is a conflict of interest because he represented people at assessment appeals hearings.

“I suggest that you all figure out what to do because we’re not stopping,” Berry said. “You’re going to see us more often now. We’ve also got your bond agreements and everything.”

A letter was read by Berry about taxpayers’ perspective regarding alleged conflicts of interest that Berry said undermine the public’s confidence in the fairness of a reassessment process. Newly elected board members selecting a new solicitor is not improper, Berry said, while also saying it’s actually what they should be doing under their fidelity oath.

“Independent legal counsel free from overlapping interest is essential to fulfilling constitutional obligations,” said Berry.

Pertaining to the firm Stapleford and Byham, the school’s current solicitor, pointed out that they are also the solicitors at the City Council, which Berry said is a conflict of interest.

“Under the code of ethics, the firm should not be holding positions under both governmental entities, making it a conflict of interest,” Berry said.

Saying that he has people checking on what the city is doing as well as the school district, Berry mentioned that the group has already pulled a lot of “right to knows.”

The public should know that a Times Observer newspaper article dated on June 4, 2022 was printed where it stated that apparently the school district threatened the older county commissioners with a lawsuit. A study said the county would lose resulting in a court-mandated reassessment. It has also been found that an individual from the school district told one of the new commissioners to stay in their lane, according to Berry.

The group led by Berry now meets on Saturdays at noon at the Jefferson DeFrees Family Center. The group will continue to help those that cannot afford attorneys. Meetings are held every Saturday at noon at the Jefferson DeFrees Family Center.

In other news, a special board meeting scheduled to follow the board meeting in regards to rescinding the lease agreement for the Youngsville Middle/High School building, previously approved on Nov. 3, was not held, according to the agenda found at the district’s website.