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Carlisle Area School District adopts Act 1 cap, keeps 2026–27 tax increase at 4.6% ceiling
Summary
The Carlisle Area School District board voted to adopt a resolution capping any 2026–27 property tax increase at the Act 1 index of 4.6%, while officials said the district expects state funding timing to normalize and noted one‑time fiscal impacts from late state settlements.
The Carlisle Area School District board on Nov. 6 adopted a resolution limiting any potential increase in the 2026–27 real‑estate millage to the adjusted Act 1 index of 4.6%, board finance chair Bruce Clash said during the meeting.
Clash told the board the Act 1 index is set annually by the Department of Education and state statute and represents the district’s ceiling on tax increases without following the more extensive override process. “So I move that the board approve the resolution…to limit any potential increase in the real estate property tax millage rate for the 26–27 budget to no more than the adjusted Act 1 index of 4.6%,” Clash said. The motion carried by voice vote.
Director of Business Operations Mike Gojoy briefed the board that although the state budget passed in November, some state revenue timing remains delayed. He said the district expects to be caught up by the end of the month or early December and emphasized that the Act 1 resolution is a ceiling, not a finalized tax rate. “That sets the limit to property tax increase for the budget that becomes enacted July 1,” he said.
Board members framed the vote as procedural and precautionary: approving the resolution preserves the district’s flexibility to complete its regular budget process over the coming months while signaling an upper bound for taxpayers. Board President Paula Bessard and several members stressed that adopting the cap does not itself set a final tax rate.
In broader budget discussion, Clash summarized recent state budget actions that provide increased basic education and targeted funding lines, including additional money for special education, school safety and mental‑health programs, and pre‑K. The district’s finance staff said they are still analyzing how changes in the school code and cyber‑charter funding formulas will affect the Carlisle budget.
The board will continue budget work in committee and expects further financial detail at upcoming meetings as state allocations and district expenditure plans become clearer.
