Colonial School District finance committee previews 2026–27 budget, recommends 3.5% tax increase

Colonial School District’s finance committee continued budget planning for 2026–27 at its Feb. 2 meeting, recommending a 3.5% tax increase as part of a draft that anticipates rising benefits costs, steady enrollment growth and several operational items requiring board approval.

Mr. Digian and a district presenter (Speaker 13 in the transcript) told the committee the district’s projected share of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (MCIU) services agreement would increase by $4,590, a 4.39% rise, bringing the district contribution to about $109,000 for 2026–27. The MCIU provides services the district purchases, including professional development, technology support and legislative relations.

The committee also reviewed two activity budgets for upcoming musicals — Colonial Middle School’s production of Mean Girls Jr. (scheduled for March 7–9, 2026) and Plymouth-White Marsh High School’s Something Rotten — and heard the district’s contracting and vendor procedures for payments to outside contractors.

On the 2026–27 draft operating budget, the presenter said he expects roughly 5,700 students and noted placeholders in the plan for bargaining-unit contract increases and three new professional staff positions. Benefits are a major driver: the district projects benefits at roughly $45 million of an approximately $169 million budget (about 27%). The presenter compared a 2021 benefits total of about $35.4 million with a projected roughly $43.7 million in 2027, characterizing the difference as an increase of about $8 million and attributing most pressure to medical and prescription premium growth.

The district described its insurance approach as self-insured through a consortium that spreads risk among roughly a dozen member districts; the presenter said average annual premium increases have been near 7% historically, with a projected 6.1% increase in 2026 and an early projection of about 4.2% for 2027.

Two rebate programs were highlighted for inclusion in the budget: an Act 91 volunteer firefighter rebate (tiered, capped at $500; last year 63 applicants at an average rebate of about $400, totaling roughly $25,000) and a senior/low-income tax rebate program that grew from 52 applicants several years ago to 241 applicants this year and paid about $93,000 in rebates.

The presenter recommended a 3.5% tax increase without using fund balance and noted the district’s fund balance of about $26 million. Under that scenario, he estimated a median homeowner’s annual tax increase of about $138.90. Committee members asked detailed questions about how new residential or commercial development affects long-term revenue and about facility planning; presenters said small additions to existing schools (targeted classroom additions at Conshohocken or Ridge Park) are likely near-term responses rather than building a new school.

The committee received a current-year budget recap (revenues about $133 million; expenditures about $78.7 million to date) that flagged timing-driven higher expenses in transportation and special-education professional services; the presenter said the district will continue to refine assumptions over several more meetings.

The finance committee adjourned with no public comment.