Mr. Tracy presented the finance committee’s December briefing, telling board members the district’s assessed valuation has grown with new residential and commercial development but that the net benefit is cut by property-assessment appeals and by rising personnel costs.

"Tonight we're really gonna cover 2 main areas. 1 is the assessed valuation for Kennett Consolidated School District. The second is to go through our salary and benefit rollover for this year," Mr. Tracy said, and he walked the board through the Act 1 timeline and the district’s options under the state index.

Why it matters: the district can either ‘‘wave out’’ and stay at or below the Act 1 index (about 3.5 percent), seek limited PDE referendum exceptions (Mr. Tracy said only retirement/PSERS and special-education exceptions are likely to qualify), or — if it needs more revenue — pursue a public referendum. Mr. Tracy said the board will determine in January whether the proposed tax change will exceed the index and recommended actions will follow from that decision.

On personnel, Tracy stressed that salary and benefits are the single largest budget driver: in his presentation salaries account for roughly 37 percent of the budget and benefits about 25 percent, together more than 60 percent. He described the rollover process — moving employees on step schedules, applying collective-bargaining terms and adding employer-side benefits and mandated retirement contributions — and estimated a net overall rollover near the mid-single-digit range after accounting for turnover and vacant positions.

Tracy also flagged uncertainty tied to retirement (PSERS) rates, which he said the district typically does not receive certified until December. "We're waiting, as I mentioned, we do not have the rate," he said, and the district is budgeting a composite employer retirement rate in the mid-30s percent range based on actuarial forecasts.

The presentation included details of the district’s self-insured medical program (administered with a third-party administrator), an internal claims reserve fund the district carries for medical claims, and a stop-loss layer that Mr. Tracy estimated around $300,000. He said an initial renewal showed medical trending higher on a first look but noted the board will take a second look in March when additional trending is removed.

What’s next: Mr. Tracy said staff will deliver preliminary budget numbers in early January, seek preliminary budget approval in February, and return with proposed and final budgets in April and June respectively. He invited board members to raise questions to staff between meetings.

The board received the finance presentation; no tax-rate decision was taken at the meeting.