Danville Area SD board approves proposed $48.5 million 2025-26 budget including Act 1 tax increase

The Danville Area School District board voted to approve the district's proposed final 2025-26 budget, a $48,474,910 spending plan that includes a local real estate tax increase up to the Act 1 index of 4% and a projected transfer of $454,085.09 to the capital reserve.

Board members met in Committee of the Whole and then immediately convened the special meeting required by law to establish the 30-day window between the proposed and final adoption. "On the revenue side, we do have a balanced budget with no projected use of fund balance," said Mister Bavis, the staff presenter, during the budget overview.

The nut graf: the package approved tonight is the district's proposed budget to be advertised and formally adopted after the required notice period; it sets the adjusted millage at 12.9186 for both counties (current year 12.4218), counts a 96.5% collection rate, and programs a $200,000 budgetary reserve while signaling near-term risks from health insurance cost increases and changes in state school funding.

Bavis told the board that the budget process began months earlier and that the numbers shown in the presentation have not materially changed since the prior month. He explained an 18-month premium arrangement with the district's new health plan, describing it as a temporary reprieve from what staff expects to become 10%–15% premium increases in coming years: "So that first premium runs for 18 months, and it covers us through the whole 2526 school year...So that's a one-time deal only," Bavis said.

On revenues, staff budgeted a modest increase in earned income tax receipts, projecting $9,010,000 (up from about $8,400,000 this fiscal year) based on a linear trend in local wages. The presentation notes a small projected state increase tied to Governor Shapiro's budget: staff said the governor's proposal would increase the district's Basic Education Formula (BEF) allocation by about $43,000. The presenter cautioned that Danville receives no funds from the state's newer adequacy formula in its current form.

Administrators warned of several risk factors. They called out a major local commercial taxpayer, the Cherokee plant, as a potential future source of appeals that "may impact us in the future if they do appeals," and they reiterated that earned-income receipts can be more volatile than property taxes. The presenter also emphasized the board's statutory steps to complete in June: adopt a resolution setting tax rates, consider the Homestead/Farmstead resolution and adopt the final budget by June 30 (the public hearing and final vote are scheduled for the June 11 meeting).

During discussion, board members asked about alternatives to the tax increase; the finance committee chair noted one option would be to reduce the $458,000 capital-projects allocation to lower the tax impact. Bavis said staff had modeled that trade-off and that the capital reserve transfer is included in the proposed budget as shown.

The board moved the proposed budget and, after a roll-call vote, recorded unanimous approval. The motion carried, advancing the budget to the required public-notice and final-adoption steps.

Ending: The district will advertise the proposed budget and hold the required public processes; the board must adopt final tax rates, the Homestead/Farmstead resolution and the final budget before the June 30 deadline.