Board approves preliminary 2025-26 budget, leaves door open to Act 1 referendum exception over rising special‑education and health costs

The Abington Heights School District Board of Directors on Wednesday approved a preliminary general fund budget for the 2025-26 school year and authorized the district to begin the public‑notice timeline needed to apply for an Act 1 referendum exception tied to special‑education cost increases.

Mister Mirabelli (role not specified), who presented the finance overview, said Pennsylvania Department of Education calculations show the district's special‑education costs rose by $625,000 from 2022-23 to 2023-24 and that the district would have approximately $224,003.61 available above the 4.7% Act 1 index if it pursued a referendum exception.

The district's preliminary budget document incorporates assumptions Mirabelli described in detail: a 3% contractual salary increase, an estimated $1,450,000 increment in health‑insurance costs driven by recent claims trends, a 3% transportation cost increase, a $300,000 budgetary reserve, and a placeholder for new debt service tied to the planned middle school project. Mirabelli said the preliminary budget "does not…