ALLENTOWN, Pa. — After two years without a tax hike, Allentown School District residents might see their school property taxes go up in the next fiscal year.
“We’re looking at a slight real estate tax increase that would be aligned with the cost of our borrowing and our increase in debt,” said Jeffrey Cuff, ASD’s interim chief financial officer.
Cuff gave school directors an early look at 2025-26 budget considerations at Thursday’s Allentown School Board finance committee meeting. The new fiscal year begins July 1.
Cuff estimated that debt service payments account for about 6% of ASD’s expenses, which he said is a “relatively low” percentage for such a large district – ASD serves nearly 17,000 students.
The district might take on more debt soon to finance a new school on the city’s East Side, Cuff added. ASD’s other major cost drivers are employees’ salaries and benefits, as well as charter school tuition.
How much of an increase?
Cuff did not share what a potential tax increase might look like for ASD residents. But in October, school directors agreed not to raise taxes above the Act 1 index, which for Allentown School District is 6.2%.
In the last 10 years, ASD has raised taxes six times. The largest increase in this time period was a 5.3% increase in the 2022-23 budget.
Cuff attributed ASD’s ability to keep tax increases low moving forward to recent action taken by the state government.
“The generosity of the state Legislature and some of the calculations with the new fair funding formula have made it very good for Allentown School District,” he said.
“The generosity of the state legislature and some of the calculations with the new fair funding formula have made it very good for Allentown School District."Jeffrey Cuff, Interim Chief Financial Officer for ASD
When a Commonwealth Court judge said Pennsylvania’s education funding system was unconstitutional in a 2023 ruling, the Legislature acted, adopting a new education funding formula in the last budget cycle.
The new formula takes into account certain factors to better measure poverty; it also resets the base amount districts receive. The Legislature also created adequacy and tax equity grants for poor and overtaxed districts.
Allentown School District benefitted from these changes, receiving $252.8 million in state funding in the 2024-25 budget — a $90 million increase from two years before. The district also received $20 million in adequacy grant money.
Cuff is estimating ASD will receive about $334 million from the state in the upcoming budget. That would account for about 71% of the district’s projected $473.2 million in total revenue.
But it’s early in the budget process. The state hasn’t shared any potential funding information with districts yet, Cuff said.
Gov. Josh Shapiro will deliver his budget address in the first week of February, outlining his funding priorities.
Allentown budget priorities
In Allentown, Superintendent Carol Birks said the district will prioritize money flowing toward initiatives that help bolster third-grade literacy proficiency, ninth-grade Algebra I proficiency, attendance and graduation rates.
She also wants to see money tied to other initiatives, including curriculum reviews, increased student transportation and the expansion of the related arts and world language classes.
She noted upcoming building projects, too, such as the new East Side school project and a Family & Community Resource Center on Building 21 High School’s campus. The district also has plans for future theme-based schools, she added.
Throughout the next six months, the district administration will meet with school building leaders to look at “quantifiable metrics” and the monetary needs “to improve outcomes,” Birks said.
There will be a community budget forum in April, and school directors will approve a preliminary budget May 22. They’ll vote on a final budget in late June.
Other school board news
School directors also approved two new data and technology initiatives Thursday.
Allentown School District will host a strategic data fellow for two years through a partnership with Harvard University.
The fellow will help ASD create decision-making processes informed by data. The fellow will also create online dashboards so district leaders, teachers and families have access to data more easily. The cost to the district for this partnership is $54,000.
The school district will also receive the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools Grant from the nonprofit organization Digital Promise Global. The grant provides students with access to iPads at Building 21 and the district’s four middle schools.
Teachers at these schools will receive training on ways to incorporate technology into their instruction. The schools will also receive a stipend for technology support and an on-site technology coach.
The school board meets next Feb. 20 at the district administration building, 31 S. Penn St. Committee meetings begin at 6 p.m. and the regular board meeting will follow.
