Upper Darby settled $45 million from spring bond issuance; board asked to move proposed 2025–26 budget (3% tax increase) to May 13 vote
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Summary
The Upper Darby School District reported a recent bond settlement that provided about $45 million for construction and presented a proposed 2025–26 general fund budget that includes a 3% tax increase and a $7.776 million planned use of fund balance.
The Upper Darby School District reported the recent settlement of its 2025 general obligation bond issuance and presented a proposed final general fund budget for 2025–26 that would include a 3% tax increase and use $7,776,000 of fund balance.
Craig Rogers (board secretary/business office) summarized the 2025 bond issuance, saying the par amount was $43,890,000 and the funds deposited to the district’s construction account totaled approximately $45,000,000 after premium, discount and issuance costs. Rogers described the issuance as the second step of a three-issuance plan to finance Clifton Heights Middle School construction; the board was told the arbitrage yield was 4.714 and that the district locked rates and settled the issuance April 23, 2025.
Rogers said multiple issuances were chosen to mitigate interest-rate risk and to allow potential refinancing opportunities later. The district reported Moody’s completed a credit opinion and that the finance team worked with financial advisors to time the issuance amid volatile market conditions.
On the proposed 2025–26 budget, Rogers presented the Act 1 process timeline and said the district is proposing a 3% property-tax increase (below the district’s adjusted index of 5.8) and planning to present the proposed final budget for board approval at the May 13, 2025 voting meeting. Under the proposal, revenues and expenditure changes result in a projected use of fund balance of $7,776,000; Rogers noted the proposed budget includes awarded grants such as a PCCD school safety grant ($337,000), a school environmental repair grant tied to asbestos abatement (about $1,780,000) and a DCED life-safety grant ($1,000,000) that requires a roughly 50/50 local match.
Administrators cautioned the budget does not include any ESSER federal relief funding (all ESSER funds expired Sept. 30, 2024) and highlighted uncertainty about future federal funding streams. Superintendent and board members discussed possible federal cuts affecting Title II (professional development) and other federal programs (Title I, Title III, IDEA), noting the district is planning conservatively and that some federal sources may be reduced or removed in the upcoming federal budget cycle.
Board members asked about the district’s fund balance and capital reserves. Rogers said the district’s audited general-fund balance was about $36.8 million, with roughly $13.1 million of that listed as unassigned and available for flexibility; administrators described a capital reserve in the “$30 million range” built over time through transfers and conservative financial management. The board agreed by consensus to move the proposed final budget forward for a May 13 vote and to continue the June timeline required by the Act 1 process.
The presentation covered staffing assumptions (no net new positions proposed; vacant positions will be reassigned to meet shifting needs), revenue assumptions based on the governor’s proposed state budget (the district budgeted conservatively at roughly 40% of newly outlined RTL/foundation funding where noted) and contingency planning in the face of uncertain state and federal revenue.
