Upper Darby finance committee moves final 2026-27 budget — includes 3.95% tax increase

The Upper Darby School District finance and operations committee on Tuesday reviewed a proposed final 2026-27 general fund budget that includes a 3.95% tax increase and asked the board to move the measure forward for an immediate vote.

Mister Rogers, who presented the budget to the committee, said the district is proposing a 3.95% tax increase. “We are presenting a tax increase of 3.95%,” he said during the presentation.

Rogers told the committee the budget shows revenues without the tax increase of $281,900,000 and total expenditures of $292.4 million, producing a gap of about $10,400,000. Under the proposed 3.95% increase, the district estimates roughly $4,500,000 in additional revenue, reducing the planned use of fund balance to about $5,900,000.

Why it matters: the committee framed the budget decision within the Act 1 timeline that governs school-district tax and budget actions; Rogers reminded members that the board’s latest statutory adoption date is June 30 and said the district intends to present the budget for a vote at the voting meeting immediately following the committee session.

Budget drivers and federal aid: Rogers said the final budget incorporates the governor’s proposed funding levels and updated federal allocations. The district received Title I and Title II allocations earlier than expected, producing roughly a $1,400,000 increase compared with the proposed budget. At the same time, Title III and Title IV allocations decreased by about $30,000 since the proposed budget; Rogers said an earlier $78,000 reduction had already been accounted for.

The package also includes capital projects and grants that were previously presented and approved, Rogers said, citing items such as a bus stop arm camera program, a life-safety grant for generator replacements and planned solar projects at Hillcrest and Stonehurst that would use federal solar investment tax credits. He said the final budget requests no new full-time equivalents; staffing adjustments are tied to redistricting, the opening of Clifton Heights Middle School and the closing of Charles Kelley Elementary.

Operational timing: Rogers and other committee members noted practical timing pressures. Because the district mails roughly 29,000 tax bills, the vendor that prints and mails bills needs an approved millage rate to begin production so bills arrive by July 1; the district therefore times its meetings to allow late-arriving state or federal allocations whenever possible.

What’s next: Committee members verbally agreed to move the budget forward to the voting meeting immediately following the committee session. The board’s formal vote and any subsequent amendments will determine the final levy and fund-balance use.