The need to avoid deficits, finance construction projects and keep pace with rising salary and benefit costs fueled school budget talks this spring, with 14 of the 17 СŷƵ school districts approving tax increases.
Local school budget talks came amid uncertainty regarding state funds as districts wait to see if lawmakers will deliver promised adequacy funds or cybercharter tuition reform.
Possible federal cuts remain on the horizon. District financial managers prepared budgets with the understanding that funds allocated and approved by Congress should come through for the 2025-26 school year, but questions persist about the long-term stability of U.S. Department of Education funding that supports special education, low-income students and English learners.
Salaries and benefits form the bulk of expenses for local school districts, with many citing rising medical insurance costs as one factor in escalating expenditures. Financing construction projects is also a challenge for districts as they seek to renovate or replace aging buildings.
Facing long-term projections that showed looming deficits or the depletion of reserves, district leaders frequently turned to property tax increases to keep their balance sheets stable.
Here’s a look at the 2025-26 budgets for the СŷƵ school districts:
Allentown
Overall budget: $481.5 million
% Budget Increase: 3.7%
% Tax Increase: 0%
Millage rate: 22.6432
District officials credited increased state funding, including a nearly $45.3 million Ready to Learn grant Allentown received as the state sought to meet its fair funding mandate, with helping avoid a tax increase.
Bangor Area
Overall budget: $66.3 million
% Budget Increase: 3.9%
% Tax Increase: 0.97%
Millage rate: 57.40
Among the rising costs cited in the budget plans are salaries, benefits, student transportation and technology-related supplies and fees.
Bethlehem Area
Overall budget: $373.2 million
% Budget Increase: 5.7%
% Tax Increase: Lehigh 3.63%, Northampton 4.79%
Millage rate: Lehigh 19.42, Northampton 63.17
Ongoing construction projects and obligations to meet employee collective bargaining agreements are among the district’s rising expenses. BASD officials are waiting to see how much adequacy funding will be awarded in the state’s fair funding efforts and whether legislators approve cybercharter tuition reform.
Catasauqua Area
Overall budget: $44.75 million
% Budget Increase: 1%
% Tax Increase: Lehigh 6.3%, Northampton -4.5%
Millage rate: Lehigh 23.0409 mills; Northampton 58.57 mills
Some driving factors in the budget increase include salary increases and projected inflation costs, charter school tuition and accounting for loss of federal revenue. The 2025-26 budget projects include an updated roof and heating, ventilation and air conditioning system at the high school, improvements to the athletics department, maintenance and transportation costs.
Easton Area
Overall budget: $214.11 million
% Budget Increase: 2.9%
% Tax Increase: 3.5%
Millage rate: 72.17
Moving forward with plans for a new high school — a project with a projected $298 million price tag — while avoiding a deficit left the district facing a tax increase.
East Penn
Overall budget: $206.1 million
% Budget Increase: 4.8%
% Tax Increase: 4%
Millage rate: 21.84
East Penn is confronting the need to continue with tax increases for the foreseeable future as long-term financial projections show that will be necessary to finance middle school construction. The 2025-26 budget includes a $1.2 million deficit planned to fund technology investments.
Nazareth Area
Overall budget: $117.1 million
% Budget Increase: 5.6%
% Tax Increase: 2.95%
Millage rate: 1.72
Plans to build an elementary school and an increase in medical insurance expenses are among the factors that led the district to pass a tax increase.
Northampton Area
Overall budget: $140.7 million
% Budget Increase: 6.7%
% Tax Increase: 4%
Millage rate: 58.52
This budget divided the board, winning approval 5-4. Rising costs related to medical benefits, debt service and charter school tuition payments were cited as the district debated what level of tax increase was needed to avoid a deficit.
Northern Lehigh
Overall budget: $43.02 million
% Budget Increase: 6.7%
% Tax Increase: 2.5%
Millage: Lehigh 25.99, Northampton 77.72
Cost concerns from residents stalled plans for a common campus. Investments that are moving forward include water softener and filtration systems.
Northwestern Lehigh
Overall budget: $55.2 million
% Budget Increase: 4.5%
% Tax Increase: 3.5%
Millage rate: 20.80
Rising costs include salaries and benefits. The district budgeted for fleet replacements and set aside money to account for uncertainty with state and federal funding.
Parkland
Overall budget: $248.8 million
% Budget Increase: 5.1%
% Tax Increase: 4%
Millage rate: 17.8
Construction projects, including an upcoming high school addition and middle school renovation plans, and their associated debt service contributed to the district’s need for a tax increase as it seeks to accommodate a growing student population.
Pen Argyl
Overall budget: $38.2 million
% Budget Increase: 4.8%
% Tax Increase: 0%
Millage rate: 56.8
The district has a steering committee for a comprehensive plan between 2024 and 2027, with key focuses on improving work study programs and technology improvements. It expects to invest in an accessible walkway at Plainfield Elementary, among other initiatives.
Salisbury
Overall budget: $49.03 million
% Budget Increase: 5.4%
% Tax Increase: 3.8%
Millage rate: 24.8428
The district is projecting continued financial strains, with long-term projections for 2030 showing the need to reduce expenses by an average of 2.8% annually or raise additional revenue to avoid future deficits. Costs for salaries, benefits and supplies are all rising from last year.
Saucon Valley
Overall budget: $59.2 million
% Budget Increase: 8.7%
% Tax Increase: 0%
Millage rate: 55.21
Staff and administrative salaries, medical insurance and student transportation costs have risen while the district has sought to cut costs on construction services.
Southern Lehigh
Overall budget: $78.92 million
% Budget Increase: 3.84%
% Tax Increase: 2.6%
Millage rate: 17.26
Building maintenance, personnel costs and curriculum investments were cited as reasons to propose the first tax increase in three years.
Whitehall-Coplay
Overall budget: $101.45 million
% Budget Increase: 6%
% Tax Increase: 4.6%
Millage rate: 22.69
Five-year projections for the district show salaries and benefits, operating expenses and debt service all rising, with a need to raise revenue to avoid depleting reserves and afford building renovations.
Wilson
Overall budget: $49 million
% Budget Increase: 5.6%
% Tax Increase: 3.5%
Millage rate: 62.58
Personnel costs and the need to invest capital in aging buildings are among the district’s budget needs.
