Credit: Souderton Area School District
The board will approve a proposed final budget at its Thursday action meeting
The Souderton Area School Board is inching closer to a balanced 2025-2026 budget, with hopes for a “reasonable” property tax increase to help close the remaining gap.
With a maximum property tax increase of 4%, the budget shows nearly $159 million in revenue and nearly $163 million in expenditures, yielding a $4 million deficit. The district is working on additional funding changes to ensure a balanced budget with the lowest possible tax hike, said Director of Business Affairs Michael Taylor at the board’s April 9 finance committee meeting.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” said Taylor. “We’ll be working to the very end to get to that balanced budget and then determine the most reasonable tax rate to do that. We’re gonna try to get it as low as possible.”
The district has implemented maximum property tax increases for the past two years. Members have attributed the hikes to soaring special education costs, charter school tuition and insufficient state funding.
At the committee meeting, Taylor described special education expenses as a “major driving force” behind the tax increases, noting that the costs have risen by $14 million, or 78.5%, from the 2013-2014 to 2023-2024 school years, while state and federal funding for special education have only risen by $1.5 million.
Superintendent Frank Gallagher added that the district is facing an increasing number of children with complex needs, necessitating funding for additional autistic and behavioral support positions.
“The needs are more challenging and more complex,” said Gallagher. “Students are being identified younger, earlier. Autism and emotional support are the big drivers.”
On a more positive note, Taylor pointed to “positive trends” on the district’s earned income tax revenue, one of its chief funding sources. He also highlighted the upcoming drop in the district’s debt service payments after having paid off its high school renovation project loan.
The board will approve a proposed final budget at its Thursday action meeting. The final budget will be presented at the June finance committee meeting, with adoption scheduled for June 19.
The next SASD school board meeting is on April 24 at 7 p.m. For more information, visit soudertonsd.org.
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