Board approves $216M budget

District taxes held steady for 5th consecutive year

EAST CALN >> Downingtown area school board members approved a $216 million budget last week without a tax increase for the fifth consecutive year.

School board member Carl Croft, chairman of the finance committee, thanked the other board members and administration for their efforts to create a budget that “not only meets, but exceeds the needs of nearly 13,000 children while keeping to the board’s goal of a zero percent tax increase.”

Croft said that the budget reflects the “district’s efforts to control costs despite large increases in areas such as health care, retirement contributions and staffing needs.” The budget includes a 2.7 percent increase in expenses from last year’s budget.

Croft said that the school board and community members recognize the need to provide their students with a rigorous curriculum. He also praised the past and present school board members for their planning efforts and focus to improve the education of the students.

“We will go five years in a row without a tax increase,” Croft said before the vote and he noted that is a rare occurrence.

The other board members also thanked the administration for their efforts. Without further discussion, the school board members unanimously adopted

the $216 million 201718 budget without raising taxes. The real estate tax millage is set at 27.182 mills. A mill is equal to $1 for each $1,000 of assessed property value.

“We will now focus our attention to next year,” Croft said, “as we go for six years in a row.”