Quakertown preliminary 2025-26 budget shows limited tax room, rising special‑education and transportation costs

Quakertown Community School District officials presented a preliminary 2025-26 budget at a Feb. 10 workshop that excludes salaries and benefits and most capital projects and is constrained by Pennsylvania's Act 1 index, which this year is 4%.

Ms. Young, district staff member, said the presentation was “very preliminary” and emphasized that "this budget does not include any tax increase revenue on it." The board adopted an Act 1 resolution on Nov. 14 limiting any tax increase to the index (4%), she said.

Why it matters: The workshop put key cost pressures on the table months before the district must adopt a proposed budget. Major increases in special‑education expenses, intermediate unit tuition, transportation and curriculum purchases—combined with a modest revenue increase driven mainly by assessment growth—leave a gap between projected revenue and non‑salary expenditures that the board must address as salary and benefit figures are added in March.

The numbers presented (all figures are the district's preliminary estimates and exclude salaries and most benefits) show revenues rising roughly $1.1 million from the 2024-25 adopted budget to the 2025-26 preliminary budget, and non‑salary expenditures increasing about $2.5 million. Local assessment growth, not an explicit tax-rate increase, is the projected source of most new local revenue; staff estimated average assessment in 2024-25 at $29,161 with an average tax bill of $5,022, and said a 1% tax increase would raise roughly $50 per average taxpayer.

Major expenditure drivers discussed

- Pupil services: An increase of about $2,180,000, driven largely by higher contracted professional services and additional kindergarten entrants and from resources tied to new classrooms implemented after the 2024-25 budget.

- Intermediate Unit (IU) tuition and services: The IU line rose about $1,800,000. Staff said that increase reflects three main drivers: an added classroom this year, tuition rate/price increases from 2024-25 to 2025-26, and a projected cohort of roughly 13 incoming kindergarten students with higher‑need programs. District staff cautioned that the IU figures are an early estimate and will be refined as evaluations and family meetings occur.

- Curriculum and professional services: Curriculum spending was listed up about $450,000, mainly for secondary English language arts materials and new math resources for grades 4–5, plus contracted professional development.

- Transportation: The transportation budget was shown increasing by about $436,000. Staff noted the 2024-25 budget had been underbudgeted by about $267,000; removing that prior shortfall, the net increase would be about $169,000 (roughly 3%). The district said it will provide a further breakdown at the next workshop.

- Human resources: The HR increase shown (~$637,000) excludes health/medical benefits and is driven chiefly by substitute costs (ESS contracted substitute service), tuition reimbursements and workers'comp. Staff said they were reviewing the substitute estimate with Dr. Finnerty.

Technology and capital

Staff proposed a district network refresh for 2025-26 at about $786,000. The district expects up to 80% E-rate reimbursement, with the district's E-rate allotment capped at $594,000; the net projected local cost after that cap would be roughly $192,000. The proposed technology lease for the year was estimated at about $475,000 (down from about $1.23 million last year), and the planned lease covers kindergarten through second‑grade iPads and sixth‑grade Chromebooks. The technology budget overall showed a modest increase (about $79,000) after factoring reimbursements and timing.

Staff also explained a roughly $2,030,000 reduction in annual capital improvements compared with the prior year because one‑time projects in 2024-25 (including a sixth‑grade center roof) are complete and because some projects will be moved to the capital reserve fund; staff said they plan an accounting transfer (about $1.25 million) into capital reserve so projects can be run from that fund rather than rolling within the operating budget.

Tech school, federal and other revenues

The district's share of the vocational/tech school budget was shown up $383,000; staff indicated that figure includes about $113,000 in capital projects and up to $450,000 for potential new programs (staff said Dr. Herrera will provide a fuller presentation and details on Feb. 27). State basic‑education and special‑education revenues were budgeted at 2024-25 levels; staff noted the governor's proposed increase would add about $244,000 to the district but that the proposal was not included in the preliminary figures.

On federal funding, staff listed federal revenue streams and noted a bucket of federal access funds that the district has drawn down over multiple years; that bucket was shown reduced by roughly $500,000 this budget cycle because of prior-year spending patterns and the district's estimate of available carryforward. Staff said they currently budget about $1.3 million in federal funds (title programs and other federal grants) and that some federal programs operate on a reimbursement schedule.

Board questions and follow-ups

Board members pressed staff for more granular breakdowns in several areas. Mr. Lyons, board member, asked specifically for a detailed breakout of athletics and extracurricular spending and how uniforms, facility rentals (for swimming and golf), officials and transportation are budgeted; he said, "I'd like to see that broken out" to evaluate equity and per‑participant costs. Athletic staff described a uniform rotation (high school roughly every three years, middle school every four years) and said equipment purchases follow NFHS requirements; vendors and supply‑chain issues (Nike v. Under Armour) were raised as cost factors.

Other board requests included: an itemized list of current reimbursements the district expects to receive (grants or federal/state reimbursements for costs already incurred), a clearer transportation variance explanation (the district said it will provide details on the drivers of the 2024-25 overrun), and a further breakdown of the IU estimate once student evaluations and program placements are confirmed.

Next steps and timeline

Staff reiterated the budget calendar: the next budget workshop (part 2) is scheduled for March 3, when salaries, benefits and staffing requests will be added and refined; a proposed final budget presentation is scheduled for April 14 with a planned board vote to adopt a proposed final budget at the April 24 regular meeting; final adoption is scheduled for June 12. The tech school will present on Feb. 27; staff said the district will finalize numbers as state and federal allocations become clearer through the spring.

No formal motions or votes were taken at the Feb. 10 workshop; the session was informational and focused on numbers and follow‑up assignments for staff.