The finance committee of the Whitehall-Coplay School District Board of Directors was ready in the education center to request additional funding from taxpayers in its proposed final 2025–2026 budget.
As part of its $103.2 million spending plan, the district plans to raise property owners' taxes by 5.3% to cover a $6.9 million shortfall. The Act 1 Index limits Whitehall-Coplay's tax hike to the proposed 5.3% increase.
State revenue is $34.9 million, local revenue is $59.9 million, and federal revenue is $1.5 million. In addition, the district receives $30,000 in sales and insurance recovery revenues, for a total of $96.3 million. That sum represents an increase of $7.5 million over this year. Regarding expenses, Whitehall-Coplay is spending $63.5 million on charter schools, health insurance, and salaries related to instruction. A total of $103.2 million was spent on support services ($29.3 million), non-operational expenses ($1.6 million), and current debt servicing payments ($8.8 million).
Teacher pay accounted for the largest increase ($1.6 million) over the 2024–25 budget, followed by medical costs ($842,765). The Whitehall-Coplay School District has a $10.9 million fund balance as of June 30, 2024, of which $7.2 million was unassigned.
The projected tax hike continues a distinct pattern. The 2024–25 budget included a 4.5% increase in property owners' taxes. After a 3% tax rise in the 2022–2023 expenditure plan, the district's 2023–2024 budget included a 2.59% tax increase. After the board votes on the proposed budget on April 28, we expect to adopt the final budget on June 9.
Separately, the committee authorized the acquisition of an extra $4 million in debt for the ongoing building projects at Whitehall-Coplay Middle School and Steckel Elementary School.
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