Coatesville Area School District adopts $242 million budget, raises millage to 44.364 mills
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Summary
The Coatesville Area School District board approved a $242 million general fund budget for 2025–26, a 3.5% millage increase to 44.364 mills and a $446.76 homestead/farmstead property tax reduction. The budget uses $6.5 million of fund balance and budgets $75 million for charter tuition.
The Coatesville Area School District Board of School Directors on June 10 approved a $242,000,000 general fund budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year and set the real estate tax rate at 44.364 mills, a 3.5% increase over the prior year.
The resolution passed by roll call vote. Board members recorded as voting yes were Donna Roland, Elgin Bailey, Liz Muirhead, Steve Wilson, Liran Jaco, Shauna Maxwell and Beth Brindle.
District finance staff presented revenue and expenditure details at committee meetings leading up to the vote. The budget’s operating expenditures are broken down as follows: salaries and benefits, 32% ($77.4 million); purchased services (including legal, auditing, substitutes, custodial, utilities and charter tuition), 53% ($129.1 million); supplies, 3% ($6.2 million); property, 1% ($1.4 million); interest on debt, 5% ($13.0 million); and principal debt service, 6% ($14.7 million). Total operating revenues are projected at $235.5 million: local revenue 63.9% ($154.6 million), state revenue 31.6% ($76.4 million) and federal revenue 1.8% ($4.4 million). The budget bridges the remaining difference by using $6.5 million (2.7%) of the district’s fund balance.
“Tonight we have before the board our final budget for adoption,” said Laurie Dieffendorfer, a district finance staff member who presented the figures to the finance committee. Dieffendorfer told members the district is basing state revenue estimates on currently known items, including an increase in the Ready to Learn block grant, higher special education allocations and a governor’s proposed increase that the district has tentatively modeled.
The district budget includes $75 million budgeted for charter school tuition. Board members pressed staff on how charter tuition is calculated and how state funding formulas affect those payments to charter schools.
The board also approved the Homestead and Farmstead property tax reduction for 2025–26 at $446.76 per qualified homestead/farmstead, with an assessed-value exclusion of $10,070.37. Finance staff noted the homestead reduction figure increases homeowner savings compared with last year’s amount.
Board members and staff emphasized that the district used fund balance to reduce the tax increase to 3.5 percent; finance staff said even the allowable Act 1 increase (about 5.1% this year) would not fully close the gap without using fund balance. The Act 1 base index and the district’s adjusted Act 1 index were presented in the committee materials.
The board’s vote followed several committee presentations and public comment periods in which residents asked for clearer, more transparent breakdowns of spending and revenue sources before the special meeting vote.
The approved budget and the homestead/farmstead resolution will be posted with supporting presentation slides and budget documents on the district website.
