Upper Darby committee previews 2.5% tax increase, sends final 2025'26 budget to full board

The Finance and Operations Committee of the Upper Darby School District on the evening it reviewed the final 2025'26 general fund budget, which staff presented with a proposed 2.5% tax increase and an estimated $5.6 million use of fund balance to balance the year.

Committee members were shown the budget's timeline: preliminary options presented in November, a December board resolution limiting the adjusted index to 5.8%, a proposed final budget presented April 29, public inspection following the May board meeting and a notice of intent to adopt published June 4. Staff said the board must adopt the final budget by June 30 if it was not approved immediately after the committee meeting.

The budget presentation laid out revenue and expenditure assumptions, including state and federal grant lines. Staff said the final budget includes a $337,000 PCCD school safety grant, a $1.78 million school environment repairs grant and a $1 million DCD life-safety grant, and noted ESSER grant funds were fully expended on Sept. 30, 2024. A recent update to federal allocations added Title II funding of $629,180 to the revenue side; staff said that allocation helped reduce a previously proposed 3% tax increase to 2.5%.

Staff reported that, without a tax increase, net revenue would be about $268.6 million while expenditures total just over $277 million, leaving an $8.4 million shortfall. The 2.5% tax increase was presented as producing roughly $2.8 million in additional revenue and bringing the use of fund balance down to approximately $5.6 million. To illustrate household impact, staff displayed example annual increases (for example, roughly $32 on a $50,000 assessed value and roughly $226 on a $350,000 assessed value).

Committee members asked for and received clarification about the Title II allocation (one member recalled an earlier amount of roughly $560,000; staff confirmed the higher, current figure). Several members commended the administration's grant-writing and budgeting efforts but cautioned that repeated reliance on fund balance can weaken bond capacity and leave the district financially exposed.

The committee voted by consensus to forward the final 2025'26 budget to the full board's upcoming voting meeting for adoption. Staff said they would return with the formal resolution for a board vote and reiterated the legal June 30 adoption deadline if the vote did not occur at the next meeting.

The committee then moved on to the solar grant update.