The Parkland Board of School Directors voiced unanimous approval of the final proposed $248,755,101 general fund budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year at its May 13 meeting.

With revenues listed as $239,936,262, the shortfall will be covered with a 4% increase in property taxes along with an appropriation of $5,507,303 from the district’s fund balance.

The rate of taxation will increase from 17.12 mills in the 2024-2025 budget to 17.80 mills in the new financial plan.

The owner of a property at the district’s average residential assessed value of $245,193 will pay $4,366 in taxes in 2025-2026, a $168 increase over the previous year.

Leslie Frisbie, director of business administration, reported the top cost increases are wages and benefits, state retirement obligations, out of district placements, cyber/charter school tuition and debt service.

Frisbie noted 74% of the budget is directed toward salaries and benefits which increased $9 million over the previous term.

Salaries for 2025-2026 are expected to total $107,700,887, while benefits stand at $76,152,454.

Debt service in the 2025-2026 budget will be $10,200,000, including $1.5 million added for the new term.

Frisbie said the district expects to pay $9 million to cyber/charter schools in 2025-2026, a $500,000 increase over the previous year.

She observed out of district placements in special education, insurance payments, sponsorship of education partners and Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit transportation costs have shown increases over last year.

The district said the budget shows the areas they will focus on for the 2025-2026 school year.

The budget prioritizes student safety and operational efficiency. It includes the addition of a school resource officer in North Whitehall Township, new buses and bus cameras, a visitor management system upgrade and the implementation of a central registration department. The 2025-2026 safety budget has been significantly enhanced by a $286,767 grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

Parkland is investing in research-based methods to improve learning and managing costs by analyzing and streamlining resource use. Notably, due to the significant investment in a new elementary English Language Arts curriculum, funding for separate intervention materials has been streamlined. Middle and high school World Language resources are also being updated. The technology budget is $1,759,132, a reduction from the previous year, primarily due to deferring Chromebook replacements, resulting in savings. The budget continues to prioritize retaining and recruiting exceptional teachers and support staff.

Vision 2030 is a project that seeks to address swelling enrollment in grades 6-12 across the district. Capital improvement projects remain a critical part of the district’s ability to protect and maintain facilities as well as the ability to break ground on the Parkland High School addition in the spring of 2026 which will alleviate the congestion at the school. Soon after, the district will look to relocate the bus parking lots and renovate and/or add more building space to Orefield Middle School.

As they evaluate the projected growth and capital needs of the district, the debt management plan will be critical in accomplishing their goals to address growth of the district and maintaining facilities.

For the 2025-2026 budget, the new General Obligation Bond Series 2024 requires $1.4 million of new debt service in the budget line. As they move forward with additional capital projects, additional funds will need to be borrowed and the impact of the annual debt service will be built into the General Fund Operating Budget. The anticipated increases to debt service associated with the Vision 2030 plan are $11 million over the next six years.

The district has developed a financing plan which requires commitment of a millage increase equivalent to the increased debt service in each fiscal year, to build the necessary capacity into the General Operating Budget to accommodate the capital projects.

The use of approximately $5,507,303 of fund balance will help ease the tax burden this year, but also help the district preserve its credit rating in an attempt to keep borrowing rates at the lowest possible rates as planning and implementation of Project Vision 2030 progresses. Parkland plans to use the full $4.1 million in fund balance appropriated this past year.

“You can judge our school district by our budget. We can hire the best administrators, teachers and staff. We have what the district requires. We want to be the pride of the Lehigh Valley,” Board President Robert Cohen said regarding the passage of the final proposed budget.

Superintendent Dr. Mark Madson noted, “This budget proactively and responsibly plans for our future needs, ensuring we maintain a high-quality education and facilities that foster continued student success, while investing in long-term solutions to manage growth. We recognize the community’s support and have carefully reviewed this plan, taking into account what we need to accomplish in the years to come coupled with our taxpayer’s ability to pay for it as the district continues to grow.”

The board will vote on the final adoption of the budget at the June 17 meeting.