Shenandoah Valley approves tentative budget with tax increase, expects major shortfall
SHENANDOAH – The Shenandoah Valley School District approved the tentative 2025-26 budget Wednesday night with the first tax increase in eight years.
The district approved a 3.2 mill real estate tax increase with the $29,162,783 tentative budget. That brings the real estate tax rate to 60.175 mills. Only Panther Valley levies a higher tax rate in Schuylkill County.
“This decision was not made lightly,” Superintendent Brian Waite said. “Shenandoah Valley School District has not raised taxes in eight years, a testament to our commitment to financial stability and community support.”
“However, we are now facing growing and unavoidable costs that demand action,” Waite added. “The District is currently underfunded by approximately $10,000 per student, one of the most significant gaps in the state.”
Business Manager Anthony Demalis told the Sentinel after the meeting the district is facing a potential $2,903,440 shortfall with the tax hike. He said the district’s fund balance will allow them to balance the budget, but he and Waite emphasized that something needs to change at the state level.
Waite mentioned the results of the fair funding lawsuit Shenandoah Valley was a plaintiff in and the proposal for a nine year timeline to close the funding gaps.
“Without legislative action to fully implement this plan, districts like Shenandoah Valley will continue to struggle year after year to balance budgets while still meeting the academic and support needs of our students,” Waite said.
He added that increases in costs for cyber charter schools and healthcare put a major burden on the budget. He termed the former as a “particularly urgent concern.”
“These schools, which are publicly funded by privately operated, are driving increasing amounts of taxpayer dollars without adequate oversight or cost controls,” Waite said, noting such schools have significantly lower actual costs compared to local school districts. “It is essential that state lawmakers enact meaningful reforms to limit the standardized cyber charter tuition rates so that traditional public schools are not unfairly burdened by costs that do not reflect the true expenses of educating students online.”
“We understand that any tax increase, no matter how necessary, places an additional burden on our community, especially in times of economic uncertainty but we also believe that investing in our children’s education is one of the most important commitments we can make as a community,” Waite added.
Demalis said the current budget uses the most recent state funding figures from Governor Josh Shapiro’s office and could change slightly between now and final adoption next month.
Other taxes levied, including per capita, local services, and fly ash processing, remain level.
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