Another budget season has arrived, bringing more financial strain for Pennsbury taxpayers. During the April 10, 2025, Finance Committee meeting, the Administration delivered difficult news: for the third consecutive year, Pennsbury is pursuing the maximum tax increase allowable under Act 1—without requiring a voter referendum. The previous two budgets resulted in tax hikes of 4.1% for 2023-24 and 5.3% for 2024-25, and now, for the upcoming 2025-26 school year, the district plans to implement a 4.0% increase, pending School Board approval on June 19, 2025.

How Does Pennsbury Compare To Bucks County School Districts?

To grasp the impact of Pennsbury’s tax increases on the community, it’s essential to compare its millage rate trends with neighboring school districts. The millage rate determines property taxes, with one mill equaling $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The chart below illustrates the historical millage rates across Bucks County school districts over the past 15 years, providing insight into how Pennsbury’s tax burdens have evolved in relation to others.

As of the 2024-25 academic year, Pennsbury had the third highest millage rate among Bucks County school districts, trailing only Morrisville and Bristol Township. Compared to similar-sized districts, Central Bucks’ millage rate is 29.5% lower, Council Rock’s is 28.2% lower, and Neshaminy’s is 7.4% lower. Notably, Lower Makefield residents, who contribute approximately 58% of Pennsbury’s total tax revenue, face the highest effective tax burden in Bucks County.

When Did Tax Increases Begin Exploding?

Millage rate increases can stem from various factors. Generally, staff salaries remain relatively consistent, with annual adjustments aligning with cost-of-living increases rather than dramatic fluctuations. As a result, significant millage rate hikes are often driven by overstaffing and capital project expenses, both of which have been notable financial challenges for Pennsbury.

The chart above details that Pennsbury’s 15-year tax millage rate increase ranks as the 4th highest in Bucks County. This ranking was moderated by a period of no millage rate increases from 2010-11 to 2013-14, which coincided with the last academic school years when Republicans held influence on the Pennsbury School Board.

Over the past 10 years, Pennsbury’s tax millage rate increase also ranks 4th highest in the county. However, in the 5 years since COVID, Pennsbury has risen to 1st place, recording the highest tax rate increases among all Bucks County school districts.

According to Kimmy Steffy, Pennsbury’s former lead accountant, during the June 2024 Board Action, maximum Act 1 tax increases are anticipated annually for the foreseeable future. As a result, Pennsbury is likely to maintain its position as the district with the highest tax increases for years to come.

What Is Driving The Highest Tax Increases In Bucks County

Over the past five years, Pennsbury has shown little interest in cost-cutting measures, despite ongoing public concerns raised at monthly school board meetings. The reasons for this lack of financial restraint remain unclear, as the Board and Administration have provided minimal feedback or transparency on why other districts have managed to control costs while Pennsbury continues to struggle.

Two years ago, Josh Waldorf, chair of the Finance Committee, cited the number of school buildings as a contributing factor to rising expenses. However, despite occupancy rates falling below 80% in several buildings, Pennsbury has not pursued additional school closures since shutting down Village Park Elementary in August 2021 to reduce costs.

Since 2010, Pennsbury has seen one of the largest enrollment declines in Bucks County. Over that period:

• Elementary school enrollment has dropped 8.8%.
• Middle school enrollment has decreased 16.2%.
• High school enrollment has fallen 12.4%.
• Overall enrollment is down 11.8%.

It’s important to note that 2020-21 figures were impacted by COVID-related shifts, including increased private school enrollment due to public school closures during the pandemic.

School district revenues come from three primary sources: Local Tax Revenues, State Tax Revenues and Federal Tax Revenues. Due to state and federal funding structures, suburban school districts like Pennsbury rely heavily on local taxes to fund operations. For the 2024-25 school year, 74.3% of Pennsbury’s revenue is generated from local taxes, which are tied to home value appraisals and the school district’s millage rate. Without a change in state and federal funding distribution, this reliance on local tax revenue is unlikely to shift anytime soon.

The primary driver behind rising tax rates is the fixed costs that school districts have limited control over. Among these, pension obligations are a significant financial burden—they cannot be reduced and continue to impact budgets across all districts.

Beyond these non-negotiable expenses, a district’s ability to manage costs largely depends on decisions related to:

• Preventative facility maintenance, aimed at minimizing future repair and replacement costs.
• Staffing levels that are overly focused on the student-teacher ratio.
• Administrative staff expansion or reduction, which affects overhead expenses.

Since the 2010-11 school year, Pennsbury’s student enrollment has declined by 11.8%, yet staff salaries have increased by 46.1%, closely mirroring the 46.7% rise in cost of living over the same period.

These salary figures are based on state-required budget submissions, with:

• Teacher salaries reflected in the Instructional (1000) line item.
• Support staff salaries tallied from line items 2100, 2200, and 2400.
• Administrative salaries drawn from line items 2300 and 2500.

While Finance Committee Chair Josh Waldorf has attributed budget challenges to the number of school buildings, Pennsbury has made little to no effort to reduce staff through layoffs or attrition, despite declining enrollment. As a result, salary costs per student have soared from $12,463 in 2010-11 to $20,650 in 2024-25, marking a 65.7% increase in per-student salary expenditures which significantly outpaces cost of living increases for the timeframe.

What Can Be Done To Stop The Frivolous Spending

Pennsbury’s financial management continues to raise concerns, with uncontrolled spending and a lack of cost-cutting measures putting increasing strain on taxpayers. As of this posting, the Pennsbury School District has yet to release its Audit Report for the 2023-24 school year, leaving critical financial details undisclosed. Additionally, at the April 10, 2025, Finance Committee meeting, the district confirmed it will not seek a Moody’s Report this year—a decision that carries significant financial implications.

The absence of these key financial documents poses serious risks for any new bond issuances, as reduced transparency may deter investors, lower demand, and ultimately lead to higher interest rates—a burden taxpayers will have to shoulder until the reports are finalized.

If the aforementioned issues related to the Audit Report and Moody’s Report concern you, there is an opportunity to attend an upcoming Board Action meeting to let your voice be heard at Public Comment. Budget conversations will be on the Agenda for the April 24th, May 15th and June 19th meetings. All meetings begin at 7:30pm at Fallsington Elementary.