Each June, residents of the Pennsbury School District brace for yet another steep school tax hike. Year after year, the district imposes the maximum increase allowed under Pennsylvania’s Act 1—just shy of the threshold that would require voter approval at referendum. These hikes aren’t temporary; they stack and persist indefinitely. Over the past decade, Pennsbury has raised taxes more aggressively than any other district in Bucks County, and the trend shows no signs of slowing. All of this at a time when the dump is nearing its end of life and a 100%+ township tax increase looming to close the forecast $22M budget gap estimated by PFM Consulting Group in a draft report.
RTKs Confirm Falls Residents Are Hurting
On August 18, 2025, Pennsbury resident Robert Abrams filed a Right-to-Know request seeking information on school tax delinquencies, citing concerns raised during committee sessions and prior School Board Action Meetings. Community frustration has been mounting, with residents voicing alarm during public comment periods and across social media—particularly in response to news about the new Pennsbury High School building. Many argue that tax hikes are spiraling out of control and far outpacing local wage growth. Nevertheless, at its June 2025 meeting, the District approved the maximum tax increase permitted under Act 1.
Abrams RTK Request asked for the following data:
1. Listing and all available information (parcel number, owner, address, amount in arrears etc.) for all Pennsbury School District resident properties moved to Sheriff’s Sale due to non-payment of School Taxes between the dates of July 1, 2023 and inclusive to August 17, 2025.
2. Listing and all available information (parcel number, owner, address, amount in arrears etc.) for all Pennsbury School District resident properties currently in arrears for non-payment of school taxes not as yet foreclosed on or sent for Sheriff’s Sale as of August 17, 2025.
As reflected in the request, Abrams sought the information before additional delinquencies would have been recorded due to non-payment in September 2025. The metadata from the exported file indicates that the data was generated on September 21, 2025. Full details of Abrams’ submission are publicly accessible via the Pennsbury transparency portal: https://pennsburyschooldistrictpa.nextrequest.com/requests/25-99
What Does Pennsbury’s Response Reveal?
Documents released by the Pennsbury School District reveal that 480 properties are currently delinquent in their school tax payments. Of those, 12 are in active proceedings for seizure or sale by the Bucks County Sheriff’s Department. Notably, 413 of the delinquent properties—representing a staggering 84%—are located in Falls Township. By contrast, Falls Township accounts for roughly 45% of Pennsbury’s total taxable parcels, according to prior Right To Know records..
PSD411 reached out to Falls Township Tax Collector Kim Scarpiello, who recently spoke at Pennsbury’s Act 34 Hearing. In her remarks, Scarpiello urged the District to reconsider its approach to the new high school project, citing firsthand experience with residents struggling to meet their tax obligations. She confirmed that Falls Township has 10,033 taxable parcels contributing to school taxes. Based on the data, approximately 4.12% of property owners in Falls are behind on payments—placing them at risk of losing their homes if they cannot catch up. Put plainly: one in every 25 property owners in Falls Township is delinquent. That means someone on your street may be facing the threat of foreclosure due to unpaid school taxes..
Below is a copy of the records obtained by PSD411. To show respect for the privacy of affected homeowners, all personally identifiable information has been redacted. The data shown reflects only the amounts of outstanding taxes owed to Pennsbury.
A Tipping Point for Pennsbury: When Tax Policy Threatens Community Stability
The data is no longer abstract—it’s personal. With one in every 25 Falls Township property owners now delinquent on school tax payments, the consequences of unchecked tax increases are playing out in real time. These aren’t speculative fears or partisan talking points; they’re lived realities for families facing foreclosure, retirees on fixed incomes, and working-class residents whose wages haven’t kept pace with Pennsbury’s fiscal demands.
The compounding effect of annual maximum tax hikes—layered atop a looming 100%+ township tax increase for Falls Township residents to offset the landfill’s closure—creates a financial squeeze that many households simply cannot absorb. When tax policy outpaces wage growth, it ceases to be a tool for public investment and becomes a mechanism of displacement. If current trends continue, Pennsbury risks hollowing out its own tax base, destabilizing neighborhoods and eroding the very community it seeks to serve.
This is no longer a debate about school buildings or budget line items—it’s a reckoning with the human cost of fiscal decisions. The question now is whether leadership will acknowledge the warning signs and recalibrate, or whether residents will be left to bear the burden alone.