A tax increase for Upper Perkiomen School District property owners is a certainty, according to President Melanie Cunningham. The only question is the size of that hike.

            "Rest assured, we will do the best we can to keep it as far under our adjusted Act 1 [limit] as we can," Cunningham wrote in an email message.

            Last week, the board's finance committee heard multiple proposals on technology, pupil services and special education expenses for the 2025-26 budget. A slide projects a total increase of $1.579 million from the current year. According to Cunningham, the district will have to expend an additional $900,000 for charter/cyber school funding.

            Special education costs vary from year to year depending on the type of instruction needs of the students in the district at that particular time, according to her message. It states that the amount is sometimes difficult to predict since students move into and leave the district.

            Cunningham could not predict the size of the increase since the committee has not received all of its presentations. In December, the members voted to limit the size of any potential increase to 4.9 percent.

            Jim Roth's presentation on technology during the Feb. 18 committee meeting, calls for an additional 3.5 percent increase ($60,540). Pupil services require an additional $57,974, according to Assistant Superintendent Andrea Farina.

            Carol Giblin requested an additional $231,981 for special education for the next school year. The board budgeted $5.398 million for this line item during the current school year, according to the information posted on the district's website. The presentation calls for $475,963 in professional services for 2025-26, up from $220,000 in the current budget.

            In other news, the committee received a clean financial opinion on its financial audit for the district's 2023-24 school year.

            Hank Miller, a partner with Gorman and Associates, pointed out one material weakness, one significant deficiency and two control deficiencies. Superintendent Allyn Roche and Drew Bishop, the district's business administrator, addressed all four issues in a corrective action plan attached to the agenda.

            "The 2023-24 audit certainly looks a lot better than the year before," Cunningham wrote in a separate email message. "There are some issues, but nothing unfixable. I have every confidence Bishop and [Assistant Business Manager] Megan Moyer will get these few things cleared up in short order. " 

            In terms of material weakness, auditors noted that the general fund's accounts payable had not been fully reconciled. Auditors identified the issuing of numerous checks issued in the 2024–2025 fiscal year as posted incorrectly, appearing as though they were processed on June 30, 2024.

            They discovered a significant deficiency in reconciliation of the balances for the General Fund/Scholarship and the General Fund/Student Activity pooled accounts. Auditors determined they did not align with the general ledger.

            While not reconciled by the start of the audit, the issue was reconciled by its conclusion, according to Roche's plan. It states that the district will implement both monthly and year-end processes to reconcile all payable accounts across all funds.

            Auditors noticed control deficiencies in the year-end closeout process and timely deposits. They claim the district did not post the required closing entry for funds other than the general fund for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. They claim this omission led to discrepancies between the district's opening fund balances and net positions when compared to the audited amounts.

            The district agreed that dividing the funds into separate accounts is the best solution to this matter. According to the corrective action plan, the district will pursue establishing new accounts for the funds in question and properly maintain records for each fund separately.

            They also claimed to have noted that certain checks were not deposited promptly, with some held by the district for up to a month. Delayed deposits increase the risk of theft or loss, can lead to returned checks, and reduce the immediate availability of funds, according to a report presented by Miller.

            It recommends that the district review its procedures for handling receipts and emphasize to all staff the importance of depositing funds in a timely manner as a way to strengthen its internal controls and maintain better accountability over its resources.