Blue Mountain’s school board narrowly approved a $55.9 million preliminary budget for the 2026-27 school year that includes a proposed 5% property tax increase, marking what officials say could be the first in a decade of annual hikes to fund facility repairs and keep the district in the black.
The vote to approve the 26-27 preliminary budget – which still requires final approval next month – was 5-4. Board members Becky Miller, Megan Meisner, Krista Strause, and Rosanne Zelusky all voted against the preliminary budget with the 5% tax hike.
To balance the spending plan with the proposed tax hike, the board must draw $765,171 from an unassigned fund balance.
If the budget is finalized as presented, the new real estate millage will be set at 8.8704. Before the board can vote on that final rate, it must first approve a new equalized millage based on the Schuylkill County property tax reassessment that took effect this year. The adjusted base millage is expected to be 8.4483, compared to last year’s rate of 46.325 under the old assessment values.
Use this calculator to determine your estimated Blue Mountain School District property tax based on the millage in the 2026-27 preliminary budget:
Blue Mountain School District
Property Tax Calculator
Capital Projects and Bond Issue
The tax increase follows the board’s April 27 decision to issue approximately $12 million in general obligation bonds to fund major capital projects. The district also secured a $2 million non-revolving line of credit through Mid Penn Bank.
That bond funding will address immediate infrastructure needs. Board members recently approved two roofing contracts: a $2.2 million base proposal from WTI Weatherproofing Technologies Inc. to replace the High School roof, and a $3.312 million proposal from WTI Tremco to replace and restore the Middle School roof.
During a recent Committee of the Whole meeting, board member Roy Heim noted the district faces at least $19 million in necessary facility upgrades over the next decade but as much as $35 million. Beyond the current roof replacements, future projects include high school windows, parking lots, and new HVAC systems.
Long-Term Forecast Indicates Further Increases
Heim, who presented a 10-year budget forecast for the district at the board’s May 20 meeting, indicated that going forward with necessary capital projects will likely require annual tax increases of a similar margin for the next decade. However, the size of those potential increases will be dictated by the state’s Act 1 index that regulates how much new tax a school district can impose on property owners.
“The goal is to get ahead of the game,” Heim said during his presentation.
Under Heim’s projections, at increases of 5% per year, a property owner currently paying $1,700 annually in school taxes would see their bill rise to $2,700 a decade from now. His forecast also factors in a projected 3% to 6% annual increase in employee healthcare costs. He admitted that his cost projections were not an exact science.
Of course, raising taxes each year is a decision for the school board in place at that time. Acknowledging the burden of continuous tax hikes, board member Roseanne Zelusky questioned what budget cuts could be made to mitigate future increases.
Business Manager Amy Tomalavage told the board that cuts are a “necessity.”
“We all have to make cuts,” Tomalavage said.
Superintendent Dr. Jason Lilly told board members that “there are challenges with cuts” and there’s “not a lot of wiggle room” in an annual budget.
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