Business Office
Department Team Members
Mr. Chris Wilson
Director of Business and Support Services
wilsonc@garnetvalley.org
(610) 579-7374
Key Responsibilities
Manages the development, monitoring, and revision of the district’s annual budget to ensure fiscal responsibility and alignment with strategic goals.
Oversees all purchasing and procurement processes, ensuring compliance with applicable laws, board policy, and grant requirements.
Supervises the preparation of financial statements, reports, and audits to ensure accuracy and transparency.
Maintains compliance with all federal, state, and local financial regulations, including reporting deadlines and audit requirements.
Dr. Kyle Pintof
Assistant Business Manager pintofk@garnetvalley.org
610-579-7304
Key Responsibilities
Supports the Business Manager in preparing, monitoring, and revising the district’s annual budget.
Assists with processing financial transactions including purchasing, accounts payable, and payroll reconciliations.
Assists in developing and refining internal controls to ensure the integrity of district financial operations.
Stays up to date on changes to local, state, and federal regulations that impact school finance.
Mrs. Candice Profitt
Accounts Payable
profitc@garnetvalley.org
610-579-7377
Key Responsibilities
Processes all vendor invoices, purchase orders, and payment requests in a timely and accurate manner.
Verifies proper documentation, coding, and approvals for all accounts payable transactions.
Reconciles monthly statements and resolve discrepancies with vendors and internal departments.
Maintains organized records of payments, W-9s, and year-end 1099 reporting for compliance purposes.
Ms. Trish Sharpe
Board Secretary, Confidential Secretary, Right To Know Officer
sharpp@garnetvalley.org
Key Responsibilities
Prepares agendas, record minutes, and maintain official records for all school board meetings in compliance with Sunshine Act requirements.
Coordinates internal and external communications between the school board, district leadership, and community stakeholders.
Organizes calendars, schedule meetings, and ensure timely follow-up on board directives and executive tasks.
💰 Audit & Financial Reports
💵 Audit Information
Official Statement (Bond Issue)
The district's most recent Official Statement (OS) for its general obligation bond series of 2020 is available by clicking the link below. The OS provides useful debt, tax, demographic and bond credit rating information. It is largely based on the district's recent audited financial data. OFFICIAL STATEMENT GOB 2020
💰 Annual Financial Reports (AFR)
Annual Financial Reports (AFR)
A table of relative Moodys vs Standard & Poors (S&P) bond ratings and a listing of S&P bond rating descriptions can be viewed by contacting our business office.
💰 Budget Information
🗓️ Yearly Budget Information
🚒 Emergency Relief Fund
📢 Legal Ads and Bid Instructions
Click Document to Download
Click Document to Download
💳 Purchasing
I. Purchasing: Legal Requirements
The legal requirements controlling the purchase of materials, supplies and equipment for use in public schools throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are established by the:
A. Uniform Commercial Code
B. State laws
C. Federal regulations.
A. Uniform Commercial Code
Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code establishes the legal requirements for the form, formation and readjustment of contracts for the sale of goods including general obligations under the contract, passing of title, performance, breach of contracts and remedies in the breach of contracts.
B. State Laws
1. 24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 5-508 – Majority Vote Required
a. A majority vote of the board of school directors is required when action is taken in certain listed instances, including but not limited to, entering into contracts for supplies over one hundred dollars ($100.00). See also supra section 1.2 (II) The Law of Agency
b. Action taken without the required approval of the board of school directors is void and unenforceable.
2. 24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 8-807.1 - Purchase of Supplies
This section of the Public School Code of 1949, as amended, establishes the primary legal requirements to be followed in the purchase of materials, supplies and equipment for use in public schools in the Commonwealth. That section is as follows:
a. All furniture, equipment, textbooks, school supplies and other appliances for the use of the public schools, costing at or greater than State required bid thresholds, shall be purchased by the board of school directors only after due advertisement as hereinafter provided. Supplies costing at or greater than State required bid thresholds, shall be purchased by the board of school directors only after public notice has been given by advertisement once a week for three (3) weeks in not less than two (2) newspapers of general circulation. In any district where no newspaper is published, said notice may, in lieu of such publication, be posted in at least five (5) public places.
b. Written or telephonic price quotations from at least three (3) qualified and responsible vendors shall be requested by the board of school directors for all purchases of supplies that exceed State quote thresholds but are less than State bid thresholds that require competitive bidding, or in lieu of price quotations, a memorandum shall be kept on file showing that fewer than three (3) qualified contractors exist in the market area within which it is practicable to obtain quotations. A written record of telephonic price quotations shall be made and shall contain at least the date of the quotation, the name of the vendor and the vendor’s representative, the supplies which were the subject of the quotation, and the price of the supplies. Written price quotations, written records of telephonic price quotations and memoranda shall be retained for a period of three (3) years.
c. The board of school directors shall accept the bid of the lowest responsible bidder, kind, quality and material being equal, but shall have the right to reject any and all bids, or select a single item from any bid. The board of school directors in any district may authorize or appoint the secretary of the board or other executive as purchasing agent for the district with authority to purchase supplies costing less than State quotation thresholds.
d. The following shall be exempt from the above provisions: maps, music, globes, charts, educational films, filmstrips, prepared transparencies and slides, pre-recorded magnetic tapes and disc recordings, textbooks, games, toys, prepared kits, flannel board materials, flash cards, models, projectuals and teacher demonstration devices necessary for school use.
e. No board of school directors shall evade the provisions of this section as to advertising for bids or purchasing materials piecemeal for the purpose of obtaining prices under State bid thresholds upon transactions which should, in the exercise of reasonable discretion and prudence, be conducted as one transaction amounting to more than State bid thresholds. This provision is intended to make unlawful the practice of evading advertising requirements by making a series of purchases or contracts, each for less than the advertising requirement price, or by making several simultaneous purchases or contracts each below the said price, when, in either case, the transaction involved should have been made as one transaction for one price.
3. 24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 7-751: Work To Be Done Under Construction Contract Let On Bid
This section of the Public School Code of 1949, as amended, establishes the primary legal requirements to be followed in contracting for construction, reconstruction, repairs, maintenance or work of any nature, including the introduction of plumbing, heating and ventilating or lighting systems upon any school building or school property. The major topics in this section are as follows:
a. Competitive bids are required if costs shall exceed State bid thresholds (24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 7-751a). Multiple price quotations are required if costs shall exceed State quote thresholds, but are less than State bid thresholds.
(24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 7-751a.1).
b. School district maintenance personnel may be used to perform any construction, reconstruction, repairs or work of any nature where the entire cost is less than $5,000. Otherwise, the board of school directors may authorize the use of multiple price quotations to award a contract that is less than State bid thresholds (24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 7-751b).
c. Restriction on use of foreign steel in construction contracts (P.L.6, No. 3 of 3/3/78) (24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 7-751c).
d. Use of school district maintenance personnel to perform “maintenance” work without restrictions as to cost (24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 7-751d).
e. Restrictions on the manner in which school district employees may be compensated for contracted construction or consulting work (24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 7-751e).
f. Restrictions on the fragmentation of the cost for construction contracts to avoid the sealed bidding provisions (24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 7-751f).
4. Act 31 of July 1971 - Cooperative Purchasing Act (71 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 633)
This Act allows local public school districts to participate in and purchase from state contracts established by the Department of General Services of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
a.The board of school directors of the school district desiring to participate in cooperative purchasing through state contracts must pass a resolution requesting permission to participate in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Cooperative Purchasing Program.
b.The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Cooperative Purchasing Program eliminates the requirement for school districts to separately issue sealed bids for the purchase of materials with a value in excess of State bid thresholds.
5. Act of 2000 - Educational Empowerment Act
The Education Empowerment Act (Act 16 of 2000) allows school districts to apply to the Department of Education for a waiver from state mandates. Waiver applications will be approved if the waiver will enable the school district to improve its instructional program or operate in a more effective, efficient or economical manner. Act 16 also identifies several specific provisions in the Public School Code which may not be waived by the Department. The Department has adopted an application form and process for review of waiver applications. The process is initiated by the School Board adopting a resolution at a regularly scheduled meeting authorizing the filing of the application. Under Act 16, all waiver applications will be deemed approved unless the Department either disapproves or requests modifications within 60 days.
C.Federal Regulations
The Code of Federal Regulations, Title 34 (CFR-34) Part 80.36, establishes the legal requirements for procurement procedures and restrictions for the expenditure of federal grant funds by local school districts.
II. Law of Agency
A. The Legal Powers of Purchasing Agents
An agent (i.e. Purchasing Agent) is a party who is authorized to act under the control of and for the benefit of another who is called his/her principal (i.e. school district) in transactions with third parties (i.e. vendors). The acts of the Purchasing Agent obligate his/her school district to the third parties and give the school district rights against the third parties.
1. The Purchasing Agent must be aware of his/her legal power
a. General Agent has authority over all of the school district’s business related to procurement.
b. Special Agent has limited authority to act for the school district in only one definite business transaction or one series of business transactions.
2.Scope of Authority
a. The purchasing agent must receive approval of a majority of the board of school directors to enter into contracts for supplies over one hundred dollars ($100.00) (Pa. Stat. Ann. § 5-508).
b. Where a purchasing agent enters into a contract above $100.00 before board approval, he/she takes a risk that the contract will not get approved.
3. Creation of Agency Authority
a. Express authority is created when the school board instructs the Purchasing Agent to perform any procurement acts, which have been approved by a majority vote of the board (Pa. Stat. Ann. § 5-508).
b. Apparent authority is created when the school board allows any person to operate in such a fashion that third parties dealing with that person reasonably believe that the person is an authorized agent of the school district.
c. The agent (any person) with proper authority (be it expressed or apparent) may make a contract with a third party which binds the school district. Moreover, the agent is not a party to the contract – the contract is between the school district and the third party.
4. Duties of Third Parties
a. A third party contracts with the district at its peril. A third party must know the extent of power of the district’s officers (See School District of Philadelphia vs. Framlau Corp., 328A.2d 866 (Pa. 1974)
b. If the school district becomes aware of an agent (any employee or other inpidual) with apparent authority, other than authorized Purchasing Agents, then the school district should take steps immediately to remedy that situation and to notify all vendors that the party with whom they have done business has no authority to bind the school district in negotiations.
💵 Tax Information
Tax Collectors
The district is composed of three municipalities, each with their own tax collector. Please contact your tax collector with any bill questions.
Bethel:
Edward Plasha 610.888.0809
P.O. Box 2299 Boothwyn, PA 19061
Chester Heights:
Maryann Furlong 610.358.1241
P.O. Box 152, Chester Heights, PA 19017
Concord Township:
Louis Girolami 610.496.6462
P.O. Box 1137, Concordville, PA 19331-1137
Real Estate Tax Exemption
As the state’s biggest advocate for veterans, the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) is always working to improve the life of veterans by providing programs like the Real Estate Tax Exemption. This program provides real estate tax exemption for veterans meeting certain criteria related to their service. Click here to learn more.
Mailing of Tax Bills
All school tax bills are mailed by July 1, per Local Tax Collection Law (Act of May 25, 1945, P.L. 1050, No. 394, and all amendments thereafter. (72 P.S. 5511, Section 7).
Even though the township and school district tax collectors can send out corrected tax bills, those changes do not affect the county's master property tax data base. The county prepares all of the original, regular tax bills from their database. The county must be contacted by you to change your ownership or address information. If the county has you listed incorrectly, then the township, school district, and county bills will all be wrong.
If the owners’ name is incorrect due to misspelling, please call the Board of Assessment at 610-891-4879 for further information. If the owners’ name is incorrect due to marriage or divorce, please contact your local title company so that a new deed may be created and filed.
Removing a deceased owners’ name from the tax bill:
By Fax:
Fax a signed request with copy of death certificate to the Board of Assessment Office at
(610) 891-4883
By US Mail:
Mail a signed request with copy of death certificate to:
Delaware County Courthouse
Attn: Assessment Office
Government Center Building
201 West Front Street
Media, PA 19063
Changing the mailing address on the tax bill:
By Fax:
Fax a signed request to the Board of Assessment Office at (610) 891-4883
By US Mail:
Mail a signed request to:
Delaware County Courthouse
Attn: Assessment Office
Government Center Building
201 West Front Street
Media, PA 19063
Click the link below for a change of address request form:
Delaware County Change of Address Request Form
Since the personal financing and mortgage company arrangements of the taxpayer can change, and since taxpayers frequently refinance their property and since the predecessor company does not correspond with the successor company, and in order to avoid claims of non-delivery, tax bills are only mailed to the property owner of record, not to any designated finance or mortgage company.
Effect of Failure to Receive a Tax Notice. (Local Tax Collection Law, Section 7)
Failure to receive notice shall not relieve any taxpayer from the payment of any taxes imposed by any taxing district, and such taxpayer shall be charged with his taxes as though he had received notice.
Duplicate Tax Bills and Tax Certifications, Non-Receipt of Tax Bill
Duplicate tax bills and tax certifications are available through your local tax collector.
If you do not receive your tax bill, please contact the tax collector for your municipality.
Installment Payment of Property Taxes
The district allows installment tax payments of property taxes, which is authorized by Act 1 of 2006. All taxpayers (commercial as well as residential) are allowed to pay their regular, (not interim), property taxes in three installments.
Property tax installment payments are due as follows:
First payment is due by October 31
Second payment is due by November 30
Third payment is due by December 31
When the annual property tax bills are mailed by the district on or about July 1, two types of bills are sent to the taxpayer in one envelope. One bill allows for the payment in full of the tax amount due; the other bill allows the option of paying in three installments. Payment of the first installment by October 31 indicates that the taxpayer has elected to use the installment payment option. The payment history at GVSD indicates that about 10% of the tax bills are paid on an installment basis.
The installment payments are required to be paid at the face, (not discount or penalty) amount. If a homestead property tax relief amount is applicable in a given tax amount, then that tax relief amount is reflected in the amount of total tax due at face, and then pided by three to yield the net installment amount due.
If a taxpayer pays only one or two installments, the remaining installments due and outstanding are liened in February. Any installment payment that is accepted and processed by the tax collector after the installment original due date must include a 10% penalty payment.
Payment of Tax Bill
Any full or installment payment for regular tax bills (not interim bills) should be sent to the district's lockbox at TD Bank; payment information is then forwarded to the tax collectors and the district daily. Please be sure to include the invoice from the tax bill in your payment to the lockbox.
Electronic Check Payments
Electronic checks should be sent to the tax collector’s municipal location and not TD Bank. The account section must contain the folio number appearing on the tax bill. Electronic checks can be used for full payments only and not in payment of interim or installment tax bills.
Municipay
Concord Twp - https://payments.municipay.com/pa_concordtwp/search/51c4d6f1
Bethel Twp - https://payments.municipay.com/pa_betheltwp/search/2565d2dd
Chester Heights Borough - https://payments.municipay.com/97855a3556b4bf598b0101877b1f1870/search/a935076f
Partial Payments of Property Tax (as distinct from installment property tax payments)
The tax collectors, the district, and the bank are all prohibited by law from accepting any partial property tax payments.
Partial tax payments will be returned to the taxpayer unprocessed. If an unpaid property tax is liened with the county,
then partial payment arrangements for the payment of the delinquent tax can be created with the county.
Interim Real Estate Tax
Interim taxes are levied under Act 544 of 1952 (Section 677.1) on the change in the assessed value of local property as a result of construction, improvements, or demolition to that property during the school tax year. This assessment change and related tax does not appear on the tax duplicate until the next year when the change is adjusted to the prior assessed value.
Assessment changes are made monthly by the Delaware County Board of Assessments. You will receive an interim bill from your tax collector once your construction, improvement, or demolition project has been completed and the assessor has had the opportunity to reassess your property. The time period for payment of your interim bill will vary from your current real estate tax bill depending upon when the change is processed by the County. All interim tax payments must be made to your local tax collector.
Homestead Exclusion Program
The legislature approved homestead exclusions as part of Act 1 of 2006. This Act allows school districts the ability to reduce property taxes for approved homesteads, based on dedicated revenue received from the state. This dedicated property tax relief revenue is generated from the state's tax on casino slot machine gambling revenues, and is available only in those years that sufficient tax revenues are generated from gambling to allow a state-wide distribution. The homestead exclusion reduces the assessed values of homestead-approved properties, reducing the school property tax.
All approved homesteads in the district get exactly the same amount of assessment reduction and related tax relief, regardless of the property's total assessed value. The amount of tax relief will vary from year to year, based upon both the amount of total tax relief funds distributed by the state to the district, as well as the total number of approved homestead properties in the district for a given fiscal year. Any authorized tax relief appears on the annual property tax bill as a credit, reducing the total amount of tax due; the taxpayer does not get a check from the district.
In order to be eligible for this program, the homeowner must reside in a dwelling used as his/her primary residence. In general, the primary residence is the address where the taxpayer lives, where the taxpayer is registered to vote, and where the taxpayer's driver’s license is registered. Only one homestead approval is allowed per taxpayer; secondary vacation homes in Pa. do not qualify; and, if a homestead is claimed elsewhere (e.g. in Florida for example), the taxpayer cannot also claim a homestead in Pa.. Homestead tax relief is only available for full-year property tax bills; there is no property tax relief for any interim, part-year property tax bills.
Penalties and Disallowance of Homestead Exclusion:
(a) Civil penalty. In any case in which a homestead claim is filed with fraudulent intent, the claim shall be disallowed in full and a penalty of 25% of the amount claimed shall be imposed. The penalty and the amount of the disallowed claim, if the claim has been paid, shall bear interest at the rate of 1.5% per month from the date of the claim until repaid.
(b) Criminal penalty. The claimant and any person who assisted in the preparation or filing of a fraudulent homestead claim commits a misdemeanor of the third degree and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding $1,000, or to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both.
(c) Disallowance for receipt of title. A claim shall be disallowed if the claimant received title to the homestead primarily for the purpose of receiving property tax rebate.
How to file an application for homestead exclusion
To receive a homestead exclusion on your property, you must request an application with the school district. Once you are determined eligible, you will receive the exclusion that has been implemented by the school district. To request an application for Garnet Valley School District, contact Patricia Sharp, Garnet Valley School District at: 610.579.7374; or, by mail:
Patricia Sharp, Homestead Coordinator, Garnet Valley School District
Garnet Valley School District
Garnet Valley Education Center
80 Station Road
Glen Mills, Pa., 19342
The filing deadline for qualified applicants to receive consideration for a homestead exemption for property taxes is March 1. Residents can only apply through their school district during the open enrollment period, which occurs every December 15 through March 1 of the following year. There is no application fee.
Once you complete the application, you must send it to:
Board of Assessment
c/o Homestead Coordinator
201 W. Front St.
Media, PA 19063
Once the application is received in the Board of Assessment, that office will mail you a response within 30 days.
How to check the status of your homestead
Go to the Delaware County Courthouse and Government Web Site:
https://delcopa.gov/treasurer/homestead.html
Delinquent Real Estate Taxes
Delinquent taxes are those taxes that were not collected during the original tax period in which they were issued with the result being a lien on the property for delinquent tax. When tax payments are not received by the tax collector by the December 31st deadline, the tax is considered delinquent and it is liened with the Delaware County Tax Claim Bureau by the end of February. Once a property has been liened, all taxpayer payments thereafter are made directly to the Bureau. The school district and tax collectors are no longer involved in the payment process. Residents may call the Delaware County Tax Claim Bureau for further information and to arrange for payment schedules at 610-891-4293.
The school district's delinquent tax revenue represents remittances from the county for tax payments made by the property owner subsequent to the lien date. Delinquent tax revenue includes the tax revenue classified as delinquent, as well as any related interest and penalties, net of the county five percent commission (collection fee).
Real Estate Transfer Tax
Transfer tax is levied under Act 511 at the rate of one half of one percent (.5%) of the value on the transferring of real estate or interest in real property situated within the boundaries of the school district.
