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Wrightstown board adopts 2025–26 budget and $7.84 million tax levy, uses fund balance to ease property-tax impact
Summary
The Wrightstown Community School District board approved the 2025–26 budget and a total tax levy of $7,844,032 after staff outlined state-aid cuts and rising voucher costs; the board used one-time fund-balance dollars to reduce the immediate levy increase for taxpayers.
The Wrightstown Community School District board voted to adopt the district's 2025–26 budget and a total tax levy of $7,844,032 after a presentation on state funding cuts and other cost pressures.
Board member (speaker 8) moved to adopt the budget and levy as presented; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. The board and staff framed the local fiscal picture as the product of three external factors: a 5.23% reduction in state aid, a rise in private-school voucher payments, and an unfunded $325-per-student increase in state-mandated per-pupil aid. Committee member (speaker 4) called those combined pressures a "triple whammy," saying the district faced roughly $1,116,000 of additional local impact before adjustments.
Director/staff (speaker 6) walked the board through the revenue-limit calculation used to set the levy and explained how enrollment, state aid and equalized property values factor into the mill rate. Staff reported total operating mill components of $5.99 per $1,000 of assessed value, including an operating general-fund portion of $3.57, about $0.51 per $1,000 attributable to private-school vouchers, roughly $0.59 per $1,000 for debt service and a $0.02 community-service levy. The district also reported using Fund 80 balances and other adjustments to reduce the tax impact on local property owners.
Board members debated the tradeoffs of drawing on one-time fund balance to hold down the levy. Committee member (speaker 4) said the board reduced the budgeted inflation adjustment from 3% to 0.33% and intentionally used fund-balance dollars "to help out the taxpayers" this year while noting that using one-time funds for ongoing costs is not sustainable.
The board approved the budget and levy by voice vote. The motion text and supporting figures were presented publicly before the vote; the adopted budget includes a $40,000 community service levy and reported figures for debt service and general operations as described at the meeting.
Next steps: staff will finalize the posted budget documents and continue required state reporting. Any additional action resulting from the meeting's executive session will be disclosed if the board chooses to take formal action in open session.
