Pennsbury Plans Tax Increase To Balance Budget

The Pennsbury School District is set to vote on a final budget that could increase taxes Thursday evening.

The school board is scheduled to vote on their $201.8 million budget for the 2017-2018 school year at 8 p.m. Thursday inside Fallsington Elementary School. The budget includes a 2.3 percent tax increase, which the Bucks County Advance reported as an additional $118 cost next year for the average property owner.

The budget increase will bring in a little over $3 million and balance the expenditures and revenues, Pennsbury business administrator Dan Rodgers said.

The district has worked to make budget cuts without cutting programs for students. The proposed final budget includes several . Reductions came in utility costs, supplies, printing, technology leases and a $300,000 in reduced health insurance costs.

Cost cuts in special education programs will save about $200,000 without sacrificing the education provided to those students, officials said.  

Rogers explained the district has increased their real estate tax revenues by $400,000 based on growing assessed values. In addition, transfer tax income is expected to increase along with an additional $163,000 coming from the state and increased rental income.

The business administrator noted that facility operations costs have decreased by $600,000 over the past eight years due to various energy saving projects.

Next year, Pennsbury will pay $681,000 extra in tuition to Bucks County Technical High School. The technical high school fees are based on enrollment numbers from two years ago.

The largest portion of the budget – about 75 percent – goes to pay district employees. The district will cut about $1.2 million in employee costs through, retirements, attrition of staff and additional salary budget risks. About $243,000 in fringe benefits have been cut, Rogers said.

One of the major drags on the budget has been the ongoing increases in Public School Employees Retirement System costs.