Pennepacker calls for UPSD budget cuts

            The Upper Perkiomen School Board has approximately one month to adjust the size of the tax increase included in the district's budget for next year. Peg Pennepacker signaled a willingness to lead that work.

            "We've got to find ways to figure this out," Pennepacker said. "It's not just this year, it's next year and the year after that."

            Last week, the board member cast the lone vote against a motion to approve the district's 2025-2026 proposed final budget – worth $85.397 million – with a 4.9 percent millage increase. Pennepacker described it as a protest vote.

            "I represent retired folks in this community on a fixed income," she said following the May 8 regular meeting. "Just like them, I don't want to be taxed out of my home."

            Pennepacker, a retired public school administrator, confirmed she has some ideas to save the district money, which will likely be disclosed during upcoming finance committee meetings. She declined to disclose them or an estimate of the total amount of the proposed savings following the board meeting.

            "Fiscal stewardship does not just mean raising taxes," the member said during the meeting. "We need to ...