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Kutztown Area board approves May ballot referendum asking voters to OK up-to-10.63% tax increase
Summary
The Kutztown Area School District board voted to place a question on the May ballot asking voters to approve a property-tax increase up to 34.2982 mills (a 10.63% increase) for 2025–26; board members debated trade-offs between cuts, contract negotiations and asking voters to decide. The item passed by roll call.
The Kutztown Area School District board approved a resolution to place a tax referendum on the May ballot that would allow the district to raise local property taxes up to 34.2982 mills — a 10.63% increase for the 2025–26 school year — if voters approve it.
The chair (Speaker 1) read a plain-English summary and the example used by the administration: the proposed increase would amount to roughly $397.74 more in annual tax for a property assessed at $120,700, described as the district’s average assessed value. The chair said the board is sending the question to voters rather than unilaterally raising taxes and outlined three options: place the referendum on the ballot, enact deeper spending cuts if the referendum fails, or negotiate a more sustainable contract with the teachers’ union.
Why it matters: district leaders said rising contractual obligations, uncertainty in state and federal funding and increasing cyber-charter tuition costs have driven the budget shortfall. Superintendent (Speaker 9) and other members flagged cyber-charter costs as a significant pressure; the superintendent estimated that possible charter-funding reform could save the district “as much as half a million to three-quarters of a million dollars” in annual expenditures.
Board discussion: some members said they supported giving voters the choice. One board member said they would personally vote no while still supporting placing the question on the ballot, urging residents to attend upcoming budget meetings. Others argued the district’s comparative teacher-salary schedule and past spending patterns justify asking voters to decide now. Several members noted the teachers’ contract expires at the end of the school year and that salary demands are a driving factor behind the referendum.
What the vote does and next steps: by approving the resolution the board authorized administration and the district solicitor to take steps necessary to submit the question to county election officials for inclusion on the May ballot. If voters approve the question, the increased rate would take effect for the 2025–26 school year; if voters reject it, the district would be limited to an Act 1 index increase (shown in the administration’s text as 4%) unless it obtains an exception for special education costs from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
The board approved the resolution by roll call; the chair encouraged residents to attend the next budget meeting on March 24 to review details and ask questions.
