Delaware Valley SD reviews draft budget showing $2.17 million shortfall; administration proposes 3.93% millage increase

Delaware Valley School District trustees on Tuesday reviewed a draft proposed-final budget that shows expenditures of $102,519,418 and revenues of $100,352,851, leaving a projected shortfall of $2,166,567. District finance staff presented a version of the budget that would be balanced by a 3.93% millage increase (an additional 1.2925 mills), which the presentation estimated would add roughly $136 annually (about $11.33 per month) to a median homestead tax bill under the district’s assumptions.

Why it matters: the board must place the proposed-final budget on public display for 30 days before final adoption; administration said the proposal would be on display immediately after next week’s meeting with final adoption scheduled for the June 18 board meeting. Trustees were urged to review the packaged materials and submit suggested changes while the display period allows public inspection.

Bill, the district finance staff member who led the line-item review, said salaries and benefits account for roughly 79–80% of district spending, with salaries about 46% and benefits about 33% of the total. He walked trustees through benefit projections (Social Security at 7.65% of wages; a projected retirement rate change from 34% to 33.59%) and a range of expenditure adjustments, including special-education contracted services, contracted transportation fuel contingencies and text- and curriculum-related increases.

Board discussion centered on the scale of the proposed increase and long-term planning. One trustee (board member, speaker 2) argued that “My own opinion is the 3.93 is insufficient,” urging a more aggressive multi-year approach to build reserves and address recurring needs; the same trustee offered to chair a budget/finance audit committee to dig deeper into line items and savings opportunities. Other trustees acknowledged that while a near-4% increase would be manageable for many homeowners, local small businesses could be more heavily affected and the board must weigh immediate tax changes against future fiscal stability.

Officials noted revenue assumptions that feed the draft — including a projected $405,240 in new assessed value from recently completed property additions and a one-time real-estate transfer transaction that inflated recent monthly transfer-tax receipts — and cautioned trustees not to overcount nonrecurring receipts when setting long-term revenue expectations.

Administration also reviewed curriculum and capital-cost drivers affecting the budget: planned textbook and reading-series purchases (including new civics materials), staffing additions for special education (an additional full-time IA requested for next year and reassignments of part-time IAs), and higher bus-contract and fuel costs embedded in purchased services.

Next steps: trustees agreed to place the proposed-final budget on the agenda next week, accept the 30-day public-display requirement and consider forming a budget/finance audit committee (which requires a board vote to formally authorize). The committee proposal was supported by several trustees who volunteered for early meetings to review the numbers; if the board approves a committee next week it would begin after that meeting and could provide recommendations before final adoption on June 18.

The board took no formal vote on the millage at the work session; administration said the proposed-final adoption and any subsequent changes would follow the public-display period and be decided at the scheduled board meeting.