The recent enaction of the state budget in Harrisburg for fiscal year 2025-26 will deliver an additional $80,672 in basic education funds to the Upper Perkiomen School District for the current school year, according to a presentation from Drew Bishop, the district's business administrator, during a recent facilities committee meeting.

            School officials initially expected $10.6 million from the Commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Department of Education will also provide an additional $2,503, added for special education, and $50,000 for a Ready to Learn grant to the district.

             Charter school funding reform will change the calculation regarding the district's spending on tuition for students who do not attend Upper Perkiomen, according to Bishop. He said the state agency has not released that form, so a level of savings could not be provided.

            "That will probably end up in some [nice] savings," the business administrator said during the Nov. 17 meeting.

            Bishop projected the district will spend $18.9 million in charter school tuition for non-special education tuition and $41,620 for special education students. He described the figures – a $1.7 million increase for 145 non-special education students, and more than a $4,000 hike for 31 special education students in the current budget – as the worst possible case scenario. The figures do not include any savings generated by the potential funding reform calculation.

            Debt service on six bonds totals $5.52 million. That includes $1.550 million in interest.

            Proposed building budgets allocate $155 for each elementary student, $175 per middle school student and $215 per high school student.

            The transportation budget is $5.02 million, up from $4.779 million during the current school year. The district expects to spend an additional $64,000 for fuel.

             According to Bishop, the district received $12,500 for participating in a one-hour drill testing electricity use in the district over the summer. He credited Michael Rohrbach, the district's director of facilities and operations, and his staff for their efforts.

            In other news, the plan to replace the athletic turf fields is moving forward. The board could receive a recommendation from administrators in two months, according to Superintendent Allyn Roche.

            Earlier this month, Roche asked the committee for permission for staff to meet privately with two of the four companies that submitted proposals before the Oct. 31 deadline in early January. He said administrators could receive information on the submission and examine the alternative. An action item could be included on the Jan 26, 2026 workshop meeting agenda, according to the superintendent, who did not disclose any figures during the meeting.

              Administrators previously estimated the cost of replacing both fields and the all-purpose track around Keeny Stadium at between $1.3 million and $1.5 million.

            Rohrbach could not provide a timeline for the work to be completed following an Oct. 27 facilities committee meeting. However, he said installation would probably occur during the summer.

            The 15-year-old surface – tested annually – is starting to show some wear, according to Rohrbach. During the summer of 2024, an Exton company determined the fields to be in fair and good condition, respectively. TurfAssist tested both fields in July by dropping a 20-pound impacting missile from a height of 24 inches, three times, at 10 test point locations to evaluate the shock-absorbing characteristics of the synthetic turf playing surface, according to multiple documents obtained from Prego.

            The turf service determined that the field, described as well-maintained overall, inside the football stadium, is in fair condition due to its age and is starting to show some normal wear and tear. It also contains some dips.

            The field's infill levels are within range and consistent and its unit of Gmax levels, the hardness of a surface and the risk of injury to athletes, are within a safe and appropriate range.