Easton Area School District discusses 3.5% millage proposal to begin saving for $300 million capital program

Superintendent Doctor Boltz and district finance staff presented a preliminary budget update during the April 29 Easton Area School District board meeting, recommending a 3.5% millage increase in the proposed 2025–26 budget to begin funding a planned $300 million capital program that includes a new high school and roughly $30 million in additional capital projects.

The recommendation came during a budget presentation by district staff member Trent, who explained the mechanics of property taxation to the board: “1 mill is 1 1 thousandth of the assessed value of a property,” Trent said, then walked the board through estimated revenue at different millage scenarios. Under a 3.5% millage the district projects a taxable levy that, after a 94% assumed collection rate, produces $120,768,477 for budgeting purposes, Trent said.

The administration and its financial advisor presented the $300 million figure as a cap for design and construction. “That $300,000,000 was not just the high school, it was the high school and $30,000,000 worth of projects,” an administrator said during discussion, noting the amount also includes soft costs and inflation assumptions. The administration said the board would place the additional 1.5 mills aside — separate from the 2% operating target — so the district can use those funds to replace bonds as earlier debt rolls off and keep the project tax-neutral when borrowing begins.

Board members asked several substantive questions about scope, timeline and affordability. One board member asked how many years the extra 1.5 mills would appear on tax bills; the administration said the schedule presented in the Raymond James financing analysis spreads debt service across a multi-year bond program, and that the first series of new debt service would appear in the 2026–27 fiscal year. A board member also pressed whether the high school could be reduced in size to lower cost; another board member asked whether the $300 million cap remains realistic in the current construction market. Administration replied that the $300 million cap has been used as a design constraint and that the team has been scaling the project over recent weeks to fit near a target of roughly $270–$280 million, plus the $30 million in capital projects.

The board discussed cost-control tools and trade-offs. Doctor Boltz framed the long-term view for building design and educational models: “I strongly believe that the face of public education needs to change,” Boltz said, urging the board to consider flexible learning spaces and programming that could affect building size and function.

Administrators also described steps already taken to close the operating budget gap. The district reported 24 teachers accepted a retirement incentive offer; the one-time estimated gross cost of those positions was presented at roughly $3.6 million (including salary, FICA and benefits) with an estimated first-year liability for incentive payments of about $316,000. Replacing retiring staff at lower steps and other measures — contract reviews, health plan design changes and potential asset sales — were projected to lower the district’s expenditures. The tentative operating budget figure presented after those adjustments was $216,880,000, producing a projected deficit of about $1,994,000 before further savings or changes.

Trent said administration will bring a final proposed budget to the board at a May meeting. “As the next meeting will be our final proposed budget presentation,” Trent said, “I would love if there’s any discussion or comments on how we feel about the $300,000,000 capital programs financing.”

What happens next: the board scheduled a finance committee meeting and targeted a final proposed budget presentation in mid-May. Administration said it will return with refined cost estimates, the ad hoc design committee will meet in May to discuss program and square footage, and the board will continue to consider the length and timing of any additional mils before authorizing borrowing.

Votes and formal budget motions taken at the April 29 meeting included routine approvals of the Colonial IU 20 operating budget, health and insurance renewals, meal prices and other line items; the board also approved several personnel actions and the financial matters package (treasurer’s reports, revenue/expenditure reports and bill registers). Specific vote tallies were recorded as voice votes in the meeting minutes.