Upper Dublin budget: administration recommends 4% property‑tax increase; committee moves several staffing requests to board agenda

The Upper Dublin School District administration presented its draft 2025–26 expenditure budget to the finance committee on April 23 and outlined staffing priorities, cost drivers and next steps toward a final budget in June.

Administration described a $127 million expenditure plan that, including a recommended $3 million transfer to the capital reserve, produces a projected operating shortfall of about $2.5 million against a beginning fund balance of roughly $9 million and a projected ending balance near $6.57 million (about 5.2% of budgeted expenditures). The administration recommended a 4% property‑tax increase in the draft budget; staff said the district’s Act 1 index for next year is 4% and noted limits on annual tax increases.

Personnel costs make up roughly 72% of the proposed budget. Administration highlighted several cost trends driving the draft budget: PSERS (state pension) contributions are projected at a roughly 34% contribution rate next year (producing a net employer cost of about $9.7 million after state reimbursement), health‑care premiums were modeled with a 5.2% rate increase, and special‑education expenditures have grown sharply (district reporting showed roughly a 23% increase in students with individualized education programs over the recent four years, from 681 to 840).

As part of the staffing review, the administration asked the committee to advance a set of prioritized positions. The top four priorities were three special‑education positions (including an 18–22 transition teacher, an elementary autistic‑support classroom teacher, and a middle‑school emotional‑support teacher) plus one board‑certified behavior analyst (BCBA). Administration said those four positions would be largely budget‑neutral after offsets: bringing the 18–22 program in‑district would eliminate an estimated $320,000 intermediate‑unit contract cost and contracting for RBTs could be reduced, producing net savings in the illustrative scenario.

The committee voted to forward the four prioritized special‑education requests to the April 28 legislative meeting for board action so administrators can post and interview candidates before July. The group also agreed to include two budget‑neutral changes — restructuring a 10‑month guidance supervisor into a 12‑month supervisor of student services and a food‑services culinary coordinator paid from the food service fund — on next week’s agenda, since those do not increase general‑fund cost.

Committee discussion touched on additional proposed positions (two secondary instructional coaches and an additional school‑security officer); administrators said the coaches would help classroom practice and teacher induction at the secondary level and that the SSO would provide an additional shift at Sandy Run Middle School to cover lunchtime and after‑school activities. Committee members asked that administration return in May with refined enrollment projections (kindergarten registrations were noted as up in March), secondary course‑section requests and potential offsets before bringing any additional hires forward.

Administration reiterated that the draft budget includes a $3 million transfer to capital reserve to fund identified district projects and that some or all of that transfer could be re‑evaluated as the budget is finalized to manage the projected deficit. Staff said the district’s projected surplus for the current fiscal year (about $4.45 million) provides flexibility but recommended caution before changing capital funding commitments. The committee scheduled continued review in May and aims for final budget adoption in June.