Mill Creek board approves proposed 2025–26 budget, instructional purchases and several facility and personnel actions; rejects Asbury stormwater bids

The Mill Creek Township School District Board of Directors on Monday approved a proposed 2025–26 general fund budget, voted to buy new instructional materials and tools, authorized a series of operations and personnel items, and rejected all bids for an Asbury Elementary stormwater project amid an active legal challenge.

The board voted to adopt the proposed final general fund budget for 2025–26 with revenues of $123,754,939 and expenditures of $125,012,052 and set the real estate tax rate at 16.7412 mills, a 2.9% increase the board said is about $40.70 per $100,000 of assessed value. Board members were told the gap between revenues and expenditures is largely equipment purchases that the district intends to fund from fund balance; staff said projected budget results may change slightly before the final adoption in May.

Why this matters: the proposed budget sets the district’s tax rate and frames staff planning ahead of the final vote. Board members discussed the timing of equipment purchases and whether some buys should be accelerated because market prices could rise before July.

The board rejected all bids for the Asbury stormwater project, a plan to reroute runoff from Asbury Elementary through underground piping to lands the district previously acquired. The administration said the work aims, in part, to address a claim by the Angela Crest Trust concerning stormwater currently flowing across private property.…