Phoenixville Area School Board Gets An 'Early Look' At 2024-25 Budget

PHOENIXVILLE, PA —The Phoenixville Area School Board voted unanimously to not go over a 5.3 percent increase in the 2024-25 school budget.

Feb. 8 is the deadline for school districts to file exceptions with the state Board of Education to exceed the 5.3 percent increase.

The vote followed a presentation by Dr. Jeremy Melber, finance director, on an “Early Look” at the 2024-25 budget.

“We are very early in the process and the numbers will change,” Melber said.

The district covers 22 square miles and consists of the borough of Phoenixville, and East Pikeland and Schuylkill townships. It has 32,000 residents. The district has 4,046 students.

The timeline for the budget adoption includes a preliminary budget update on Feb. 26, followed by a preliminary budget approval on March 18. A final budget proposal will be April 15 with the final approval on May 20.

The final budget is due to the state Department of Education on June 30.

The early annual budget is estimated at $113.4 million. Melber said the number will likely to go down.

He said the early budget shows a $2.2 million deficit, which could be covered by a 3.1 percent tax increase. As a result, the district budget will be significantly lower than the 5.3 percent increase index.

The district is projecting a 2 percent growth in real estate assessment, which could increase to $1.4 million in taxes.

Melber said the largest factor affecting expenditure is an increase in debt of $1.1 million due to the construction of a new elementary.

The district is spending $75 million on the new Hares Hill Elementary School in East Pikeland Township. The new school is expected to open for the 2025-26 school year.

The new school would serve grades two through six and have a capacity for 750 students. Seventh and eighth grades would be in middle school and ninth through 12 would be in high school.

In addition, expenditures are due to increasing vo-tech enrollments, charter school tuition, and health insurance. Melber said the increase in spending also includes salary and benefit increases.