Pennsylvania homeowners may subsidize school-pension losses.

• Position: News Briefs - Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System pension fund lost $4.4 bil in 2002 - Brief Article

The Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) pension fund lost $4.4 billion last year, which could mean higher property taxes for homeowners in the state. PSERS trustees in December voted to triple the subsidy collected from local school districts and from the state. In one school district, Lower Merion, this could mean tax increases of $50 dollars per household. Not surprisingly, local officials are not happy about the property tax increase and are critical of PSERS trustees for not building up a larger reserve for the fund in better times. The system lost $2.6 billion on investments made in domestic...