Upper Perkiomen board rejects 1% millage, approves 0.75% and adopts homestead/farmstead exclusion

The Upper Perkiomen School District Board of Directors on June 18 resumed its budget deliberations, rejected a proposed 1% property tax millage increase and approved a smaller 0.75% increase, while also adopting a homestead/farmstead exclusion for the 2026–27 budget.

Board President called the meeting back into session following a recess and moved action item B — the budget resolution — back onto the table for final consideration. After discussion, the board took a roll-call vote on the 1% option; recorded votes in the meeting transcript show the motion failed. The board later passed the 0.75% millage option by roll call.

Why it mattered: directors repeatedly emphasized that rising personnel costs and mandated services leave few painless choices. "We negotiate maintenance and software contracts and labor contracts and they escalate every year," said Director Keith, arguing for a careful, multi-year approach and asking administration to provide a breakdown of mandated versus optional services, including salaries, health care and retirement contributions.

Director Leah, who said she earlier voted to table the matter to gather information, said she would support a modest tax increase only to meet statutory obligations and preserve services. "Teacher salaries are the largest share of the budget and are negotiated through collective bargaining," Leah said, noting deferred roof repairs pending a grant and rising special-education costs. She cited $660,000 in annual spending to transport students out of the district as a significant line-item.

Several directors described the technical role of the district's STEB (step) ratio in magnifying effective tax changes. Board President displayed a chart of historical STEB ratios and modeled scenarios showing how different millage choices would affect homeowners with a $126,000 assessed value and the district's fund balance. The presentation projected the district's unassigned fund balance at roughly $5 million before the vote and showed that more aggressive tax cuts could largely exhaust reserves.

Board members recommended outreach to improve public understanding of school finance. "We need to meet the community where they're at," Director Peg Penipacer said, suggesting podcasts, a dedicated web page and other tools to explain how budgets and school boards work.

Votes at a glance: the transcript records a roll-call vote in which the 1% millage motion failed (recorded yes votes from Directors Oswald, Chimrani, Kipopellski and Cunningham; recorded no votes from Directors Char Schmidt, Fluki, Penny Packer and McCarrick). A subsequent motion to adopt a 0.75% millage passed on roll call (recorded yes votes from Directors Oswald, Chafrani, Kipopellski, Penny Packer and Cunningham; recorded no votes from Shmmet, Fluki and McCarrick). The board then voted to adopt the homestead/farmstead exclusion resolution for the 2026–27 budget; the meeting transcript records the motion passing on roll call.

On homestead/farmstead exclusion: Leah clarified that the application deadline for this budget year had already passed and that residents can apply in March 2027; she said the exclusion is funded from gaming revenue and estimated the reduction at about $330 on a $126,000 assessment.

What happens next: the board passed the reduced millage and the homestead/farmstead resolution and adjourned. Directors said staff will finalize calculations and the district will publish details and outreach materials to explain the budget choices to the community.

Attribution: quotes and specific remarks in this article come from attendees and board members as recorded in the June 18 meeting transcript. No external documents were used.