Phoenixville School Board Approves $108.2 Preliminary Budget

PHOENIXVILLE, PA —The Phoenixville Area School Board voted 8-1 to approve a $108.2 million preliminary for the 2023-2024 school year.

Dr. Jeremy Melber, finance director, said the bottom line amounts to a 1.26 percent tax increase.

The proposed budget call for a tax increase of $52.93 per year for a house assessed at $127,700, the average assessment in the district.

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 4,004 students.

Board member David Golberg voted against the preliminary budget, questioning why the board does not consider not raising taxes.

The proposed budget includes a 5 percent increase, amounting to $28,917, for library funding.

The board did not include $600,000 for energy improvements.

David Lutzker, president of the Phoenixville Green Team, said that investing in solar panels is the right thing to do. He said the payback for solar panels will result in savings.

Dr. Alan Fegley, the superintendent, said the administration will ask the board to approve a plan for redistricting at the board’s June meeting.

He said several meetings in the last few weeks with parents in the elementary schools regarding redistricting plans were very successful.

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.

The superintendent noted there are 17 new developments in the works in the district.

The new school is expected to open for the 2025-26 school year.