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Exeter Township School District previews $92M budget, warns health-care rate spike could push tax increase
Summary
Superintendent and business administrator presented a first-look 2026 budget showing about $92 million in expenditures and roughly $90 million in revenue, leaving a near $1.95 million gap; administration attributed most of the shortfall to a projected 16% increase in health-care costs via the Berks County Health Trust and said the district would need an over 4% tax increase to break even absent other cuts.
Exeter Township School District officials told the board on March 10 that the district is preparing a preliminary fiscal 2026 budget of roughly $92 million in projected expenditures against just under $90 million in revenue, creating an initial shortfall the administration estimated at about $1.95 million.
"We are, we're building this based on assumptions regarding salaries, regarding insurance," Superintendent Dr. Christy Haller said during the budget presentation. She and business administrator/board secretary Brian Fike said the largest single driver of the projected increase is health-care benefits.
Administration reported the Berks County Health Trust recently indicated a projected rate increase of roughly 16%, which the district estimated translates to more than $1.7 million of the budget increase. "We are looking as a district at a 16% increase, which is over $1,700,000 of the increase that you're seeing of a $92,000,000 budget," the superintendent said.
Board members asked how that shortfall would translate to property-tax changes. Fike told the board, "Right now to breakeven, it'd be a little bit over 4%." Members pressed for options; staff said the district is contractually committed to the trust for about 18 more months and would have to give a year's notice and wait an additional year to exit the trust. Options discussed included remaining in the trust, changing to another trust, or pursuing self-funding, but staff cautioned that altering benefit structures would require negotiations with unions and could raise legal exposure.
Board members also highlighted additional cost pressures: a reported 20% increase in local water rates for buildings that use PA American Water, enrollment-driven staffing needs in regular instruction and special education, and decreases in some federal funding streams (administration referenced about $350,000 less in federal/IDEA funds compared with a prior year estimate).
Administration said it will continue to refine the numbers and present updates; staff and several board members signaled that district leaders will need to weigh potential staffing reductions versus tax increases as budget decisions move forward this spring.
"We are kind of at a crossroads right now," the superintendent said, noting the board will need to consider whether to eliminate positions and potentially change class-size policy to balance the budget. The board scheduled further budget and committee meetings as part of its regular process.
