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Dover Area SD projects about $4.6 million preliminary deficit as special-education, transportation and loss of tax base drive costs
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Summary
CFO Miranda Weaver told the Dover Area School District board the preliminary 2026–27 budget shows an approximate $4.6 million deficit driven by rising special-education placement costs, increased LAU/LIU charges, higher utilities and a substantial loss of tax base after Washington Township’s secession.
Miranda Weaver, the district’s chief financial officer, told the Dover Area School District board on Jan. 20 that the district’s preliminary 2026–27 budget shows “we're looking at a deficit about 4.6” million dollars as the district balances rising costs against constrained revenues.
Weaver said local revenue — chiefly real-estate taxes — remains the largest funding source and that the district’s historic average tax collection rate is about 96.5%. She flagged several drivers of the gap: escalating special-education costs (including tuition placements that range “anywhere from $30,000 to $95,000 per student”), sharply higher LAU service charges in some areas (which she said have risen as much as 15–97% since 23–24), increased transportation needs and utility price spikes. Weaver also noted the district had lost a minimum of about $18 million in revenue since Washington Township’s secession, which has trimmed the tax base and left the district with nearly a 12% decline in taxable assessments while student population fell by roughly 5%.
Weaver walked the board through revenue assumptions and classifications used in state reporting and said the district is taking a conservative 1.5% estimate for basic education funding pending the governor’s budget. She described other budget moves: adding an autistic-support classroom at the high school and creating an intensive learning-support classroom at Dover Elementary (a change Weaver said should save costs compared with contracted services), and adding a personal finance teacher to meet Act 35 (2023) curriculum requirements.
Board members pressed Weaver for specifics. Directors asked about the composition of the 96.5% collection rate — Weaver confirmed early-payment discounts and penalties affect the net figure — and how much of the district’s “excess” or carryover funding remains available for one-time uses (Weaver estimated about $200,000 in the line item discussed). The board also heard that bond refinancing is expected to produce near-term debt-service savings (Weaver cited roughly $4.6 million in savings next year, reflected in the budget), while some long-term operating pressures (LIU costs, special-education placements and charter/cyber tuition flows) remain unresolved.
Superintendent Dr. Hauck said the district will continue to examine which services might be brought back in-house to reduce contracted costs and promised further detail in the February budget update. Weaver invited board feedback on additional slides or comparative data the board would like for the next presentation.
What happens next: administrators will return in February with deeper analyses — including millage-impact scenarios and comparisons with peer districts — and the board will continue the budget review and public comment process.
