Hatboro-Horsham School District Seeks To Limit Tax Hike

HATBORO / HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA — The Hatboro-Horsham School Board has begun 2026-2027 school budget discussions as the state has lowered the Act 1 index once again.

Bill Stone, the school district's director of business affairs, recently told the school board during its first school budget presentation of the year that he hopes to limit any potential tax increase to be at or under the Act 1 index of 3.5 percent.

The state had set last year's Act 1 index at 4 percent.

Stone said several challenges face the school district this year in forming a budget.

He said that tax assessment appeals of commercial properties is increasing. Stone added that if those appeals are upheld, the district’s tax base will shrink.

Meanwhile, the state budget is still at an impasse, and the federal government remains shutdown, although a vote by Congress seems likely to end that.

Stone said other factors include the school district having to negotiate a new teachers' contract, which expires on June 30.

There is some financial relief coming to the school district, Stone said.

The district is expected to receive $700,000 in impact aid from the federal government when the government reopens. The funding is expected to come for the former U.S. Navy base.

Last year, the school board approved a 3.46 percent tax increase in the 2025-2026 school budget.

The average percentage tax increase for school districts in Montgomery County is 3.96 percent. Hatboro-Horsham’s increase was the fourth lowest of the county's 21 districts, school officials said.

Prior school tax increases were 3.68 percent in 2023-2024 and 3.52 percent in 2024-2025.