3.5% Tax Hike Approved In Centennial School Budget

WARMINSTER TOWNSHIP, PA — The Centennial School District has approved a $157.3 million final 2026-2027 school budget that will include a 3.5 percent tax hike.

At its recent meeting, the Centennial School Board approved the budget to close a $10 million deficit.

School officials said the district faces an estimated budget deficit of about $10 million with no tax increase, and a $7 million deficit if a 3.5 percent tax increase was implemented.

After approving the tax hike, the school district will also use nearly $3 million from its reserves.

The school district also implemented a retirement incentive plan for 22 teachers that will save $1,587 million.

For residents with a home assessed at nearly $40,000, taxes will rise by $225 on top of taxes costing that homeowner $6,407.

"Our Board and Administration have been working diligently to balance our $7 million deficit," School Board President Patti Crossan told Patch on Tuesday. "We have brought the deficit down from $7 million to $2.9 million. We are projecting revenues to exceed expenditures. Our expenditures only increased by 0.5%, revenues increasing by 2%. Many of the initiatives will result in recurring savings annually. Our Board is committed to providing a quality education for all students and being financially responsible to our community."

In a letter to the school community in late April, Finance Committee Chairwoman Karen M. Simon Krieger and Schools Superintendent Abe Lucabaugh said the district was reviewing rising costs in special education services, transportation, healthcare, and other operating expenses.

School officials said the deficit developed over several years because of rising operational costs, unfunded initiatives, and revenue growth that did not keep pace with those obligations.

These are some of the other cost-savings targets:

• Centennial also said it will adopt zero-based budgeting for the 2026-2027 fiscal year and beyond.
• Strategic review of staffing and scheduling, with anticipated savings of $600,000, and a retirement incentive program projected to save $750,000.
• A Transfer of Entity agreement with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit will save $1.2 million. The district said two full-time autistic support classrooms at Davis Elementary now operated by the Bucks IU will be brought under district operations.

Click here to see the budget presentation that shows the measures the school district undertook to close the deficit.