Downingtown Area SD projects $2.1 million shortfall, proposes 3.9% tax increase to fund full‑day K and rising special‑ed costs

Superintendent Bruce O'Donnell and district finance staff told the Downingtown Area School District Board on March 12 that the district projects a $2,100,000 deficit for the 2025–26 school year and is proposing a 3.9% tax increase to reduce that shortfall.

The proposal would raise the average district homeowner's tax bill of about $5,700 by roughly $223 next year, district finance staff said. David Mattis, a member of the district finance staff who presented the budget details, said, “leaving us a deficit as of today, projected deficit of about $2,100,000.” Mattis also told the board that the 3.9% increase is already factored into that projection and that the district is continuing to identify expense reductions before the final budget vote in May.

The board heard that multiple revenue and expense pressures are driving the shortfall. The district reported about $2 million less than budgeted so far in current‑year real estate tax collections and $3.8 million in annualized losses from commercial property assessment appeals since 2021. Mattis said assessment appeals have affected up to 10% of the district’s commercial property value and that more appeals are expected.

Special education and charter‑school costs were highlighted as major expense drivers. The district reported nearly $43 million in special education spending in the latest full year and said it now projects needing 37 low‑incidence classrooms (multiple disabilities, life skills, autistic support) where it had 26 in 2018–19; the district estimated such classrooms cost roughly $250,000 a year each to operate. Charter‑school tuition costs rose by about $1.2 million to $7.7 million this year, covering roughly 428 students; the district calculated a charter cost per pupil of about $18,000 versus the district’s cost of roughly $14,700 per student.

Full‑day kindergarten was a recurring topic during discussion of the budget because the district intends to implement full‑day K next school year. Superintendent Bruce O'Donnell said the district is moving forward with full‑day kindergarten and that staffing and facilities are the largest cost drivers for that initiative. David Mattis said the district’s staffing presentation on April 2 will spell out the number of new teachers and aides the full‑day program will require. When asked about current enrollments, Dr. Chance, an enrollment official who answered for the district, said, “574 as of yesterday,” referring to kindergarten registrations to date; she explained staffing needs could range from roughly 4½ teachers up to as many as 15 teachers depending on final enrollment and section size.

Other cost pressures noted included transportation (bus purchase prices up from about $70,000 pre‑COVID to about $130,000 today), escalating medical and prescription costs in the district’s self‑insured health plan, and increases in charter placements. On the revenue side, the district is seeking modest savings through technology licensing and device strategy changes (moving from iPads to Chromebooks and from Zoom to Google Meet) and is tracking potential future real estate revenue from new housing and the phased sale/development of the Siemens site.

The district’s projected revenues for 2025–26 were presented as about $301 million versus projected expenditures of roughly $303 million, producing the roughly $2.1 million gap. Finance staff emphasized the figure is a snapshot that the administration is actively working to reduce before the proposed budget presentation on April 9 and the final budget vote on May 14. Mattis said staff have already reduced next year’s capital request by several million dollars and are continuing to analyze contracted services, summer support hires and other line items for further savings.

Board members asked detailed questions about assumptions used in the forecast, including the district’s newer—and more conservative—assumption for assessed value growth (reduced from an assumed 2.4% to 1.2%), the extent and timing of assessment appeals, how state aid projections were treated (the governor had proposed additional adequacy funding that has not been finalized by the legislature), and how full‑day K enrollment will change charter costs. Mattis told the board that some state and federal details will not be final until fall but that October will provide clearer multi‑year projections once full‑day K staffing and charter billing are finalized.

No formal budget vote was taken during the March 12 meeting. The administration said it will return with a staffing presentation on April 2, present a proposed 2025–26 budget on April 9, and seek a final budget vote on May 14.

Less urgent items raised during the meeting included the district’s capital fund balance (currently projected to end next year at about $2.3 million after years of transfers to capital projects), the district’s bond rating factors, and several one‑time and recurring revenue options such as adjusted facility fees and technology fee collections.

Why this matters: The board framed the discussion as balancing educational priorities such as full‑day kindergarten and expanded special‑education capacity with the tax burden borne primarily by local homeowners. The superintendent and finance staff stressed they will continue identifying expense reductions and tracking enrollment and appeals to refine the final budget.

Looking ahead, the administration expects to have substantially more certainty about staffing and revenue by October 2025 and plans to return to the board with updated multi‑year projections then.