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Bensalem Township SD board approves proposed final budget for public inspection, 5-3
Summary
The Bensalem Township School District board voted 5-3 to approve a proposed final operating budget for public inspection that includes three tax scenarios (0%, 2.4% and 3%). The proposal would leave the district drawing from fund balance under all scenarios but reduces the draw if a tax increase is adopted.
The Bensalem Township School District Board of School Directors voted 5-3 to approve a proposed final operating budget for public inspection that lays out three tax scenarios — no increase, a 2.4% increase and a 3% increase — and starts the 30-day public display period required by school law.
District finance presenter John Steffey summarized the package, saying, "Our total expenditures are up to $188,363,663 or $7,100,000 over our current 2425 budget or approximately 3.93 percent." He told the board insurance cost increases of $115,148 and other factors drove most of the change since the last meeting.
Why it matters: the board must approve a proposed final budget for public inspection at least 30 days before final adoption. The board’s vote does not lock in a tax increase; it authorizes the district to publish the proposed figures and sets a final-adoption hearing for June 24, when the board can still change the tax decision.
Board discussion centered on how much of the district’s fund balance would be used under each scenario and how homestead relief from the state offsets some local increases. Steffey presented three scenarios: with no tax increase the district would project a draw of about $7.8 million from fund balance; a 2.4% tax increase would reduce the draw to about $5.18 million; and a 3% increase would reduce it to about $4.5 million. He also said the district’s contingency is $600,000.
Steffey said the district’s homestead allocation is rising: the homestead distribution increased by about $517,000 (from $3,437,000 this year to $3,955,000 for the 25-26 budget), and the number of approved homesteads rose from roughly 11,600 this year to more than 12,000 next year. He said that increased homestead aid reduces the per-household impact of any tax increase; for the median assessed homestead (about $23,000), a 2.4% tax increase would be roughly $54 per year and a 3% increase roughly $78 per year after the homestead reduction.
Board members debated the choices. Multiple directors said they favored a 3% scenario to limit future volatility and to preserve the district’s financial position for capital needs; others said they opposed increasing taxes this year. One director noted the district’s bond-rating review weighs changes in fund balance, and that drawing heavily could raise borrowing costs for projects the district is planning.
The board approved the motion to publish the proposed final operating budget and to authorize the secretary to advertise and prepare tax resolutions. The motion was moved and seconded (movers and seconders not specified in the transcript) and carried on a 5-3 vote.
The board set a final-adoption hearing for Tuesday, June 24, at the Dorothy D. Call Administrative Center Board Meeting Room, 3000 Dunellen Drive. The proposed final budget will be available at the district administration building for 30 days prior to that hearing as required by the school code.
What remains unsettled: the vote sends one of the three scenarios out for public inspection but does not finalize a tax rate. Board members and the public will have an opportunity to weigh in during the 30-day display and again at the June 24 adoption meeting.
