Finance Committee Sets Preliminary Figure

            Next month, the Upper Perkiomen School Board will vote on a preliminary budget for the upcoming school year with a proposed $252 tax increase for property owners. Drew Bishop, the district's business administrator, described it as the worst case scenario.

            On Tuesday, the district's Finance Committee recommended including a 6.4 percent tax increase on the 2025-26 budget. Though the board is expected to vote on it May 8, all three members expressed a willingness to ultimately reduce the size of the tax increase.

            "We're still working to reduce expenditures," said Melanie Cunningham, the committee chair and board president.

            Member Trina Schaarschmidt expressed hope that administrators will continue their work to reduce the eventual tax hike to 5.17 percent, or an additional four percent millage increase. After the meeting, Bishop said the millage increase could drop below four percent.

            "We do not like any of this," Member Keith McCarrick said during the meeting.

            Bishop presented the committee with five different options, ranging from no increase to the maximum 4.9 percent millage increase. The board has raised taxes the last three school years.

            The highest proposed increase would generate an additional $2.680 million and leave a $4.176 million budget deficit for the 2025-26 school year. A 4.5 percent millage increase that would cost the average property owner with an average assessed home at $126,051 an additional $234.77, would raise $2,497 million and create a $4.36 million deficit.

            With a four percent millage increase, the average property owner would pay an additional $212.60. The increase would generate $2.267 million and leave the district with a $4.589 deficit.

            The board would have to utilize its reserve fund to cover any deficits. According to Bishop, the district ended the last school year with an unassigned fund balance of $4.68 million and $5.7 million committed.

            For the current school year, the board utilized $2.6 million from its fund balance to cover a deficit. Last spring the members approved a 3.5 percent millage rate increase.

            The Finance Committee is scheduled to meet May 19 and the middle of June. The board is scheduled to cast its final vote on the budget June 19, during its final meeting of the current school year.

            Bishop identified increased revenue identified by administrators since the last committee meeting. Strong Earned Income Tax to the district allowed the business administrator to project additional $225,000 for the 2025-26 school year.

            In terms of expenditures, Bishop's presentation calls for saving the district $322,933. It states that the biggest drops come from a line item review of salaries ($85,178), curriculum ($64,200) and diesel and gasoline ($60,000).

            The salaries line item, totaling $33.372 million, includes a placeholder figure for the district's teachers since the Upper Perkiomen Education Association does not have a contract for the upcoming school year, according to Cunningham.

            The board president declined to disclose that figure after the meeting. Bishop did not include it in his presentation.

            In other news, the committee agreed to recommend that the board accept a proposal from ParentSquare to allow parents to make payments to the school for field trips and fundraisers, among other things. The district currently uses the same platform to communicate with parents.

            "This is more user friendly than the system we currently have," Bishop said.