Fox Chapel board adopts $125.5 million final budget, 8–1, amid calls for county tax reform

The Fox Chapel Area School District board approved the district’s final general fund operating budget for 2026–27, Resolution 2026-5, presented to the public after a 30-day review period. The budget was adopted by roll call, eight members voting yes and one member, Mrs. Lynch, voting no.

Administrators presented the budget figure of $125,489,654 and noted the millage and other details were advertised to the public. Finance items that accompanied the budget included a general-fund disbursement listing ($8,684,273.35), approval of interfund transfers (including $42,163 to the athletic capital reserve, described as 50% of 2025–26 athletic ticket sales), authority for the director of finance to enter insurance contracts for 2026–27 (not to exceed $581,000), and a school food services budget of $2,246,250.

Board discussion focused less on program cuts than on tax policy and reassessment. Several members praised administration for controlling costs and preserving programming while noting that predictability in real-estate revenue depends on regular reassessment at the county level. One board member said she would vote no on the tax increase, restating a long-held position that tax increases cannot be the district’s only response to funding shortfalls; Mrs. Lynch cast the lone no vote in the final roll call.

The board also approved associated procedural finance items (disbursement listing, transfers and budget transfers) by roll call earlier in the meeting. The board urged the public to weigh in on county reassessment and tax-reform hearings referenced for June 16 and July 1 (county-hosted public comment sessions intended to inform broader property-tax policy decisions).

Resolution numbers and votes recorded in the meeting: the minutes approval and multiple consent blocks (facilities, instruction, personnel, operations) were approved by roll call earlier in the meeting; the final budget (Resolution 2026-5) was adopted by an 8–1 roll call with Mrs. Lynch opposed.

Next steps: the adopted budget will be posted as the district’s final operating budget for 2026–27 and school administrators will proceed with implementation and scheduled capital work subject to the contract approvals already granted by the board in this meeting.