Phoenixville School Board Reviewing $108.2M Proposed 2023-24 Budget

PHOENIXVILLE, PA —The Phoenixville Area School Board this week reviewed a preliminary proposed $108.2 million budget for the 2023-2024 school year.

Dr. Jeremy Melber, finance director, said the bottom line amounts to a 1.76 percent tax increase.

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

Melber said the primary factors impacting the expense increase in health insurance increases, vo-tech enrollment increases, debt, energy costs, security, staffing, and a world language program at the elementary level.

Several board members asked Melber to provide a general list of budget items that are not mandatory by the state and federal government.

Dr. Alan Fegley, the superintendent, said the district is still in the preliminary stages of preparing a budget.

The district has one high school, one middle school, and three elementary schools, Barkley, Manavon, and Schuylkill, and is in the process of constructing a fourth off Hares Hill Road, East Pikeland Township.

As a result of an increase in population, the district is also reviewing redistricting elementary schools.