Rising Costs Push More School Districts Toward Property Tax Increases
Photo: Unsplash/@karepesinde
A growing number of suburban Philadelphia school districts are proposing property tax increases at or near the state's index cap, as special education and transportation costs rise faster than state basic education funding.
Business managers in several Montgomery and Delaware County districts point to mandated special education placements, some costing well over $80,000 per student annually, as the single largest driver of budget pressure this cycle.
"We don't have discretion over whether to serve these students appropriately," one district's finance director said. "We have discretion over almost everything else, and there's less and less of everything else to cut."
Transportation costs have climbed too, driven by rising fuel prices and a shortage of bus drivers that has forced some districts to pay premium rates to contracted carriers. State lawmakers have debated additional special education funding for several budget cycles without reaching an agreement on a permanent formula change.
Several districts are holding public budget hearings this spring before final votes required ahead of the new fiscal year.
