May 16, 2026 By Conner Goetz 3 min read

The Washington School District Board of Education adopted the preliminary 2026-27 budget earlier this week pending public review and final adoption in June.

The budget projects $35,707,124 in total revenue to cover $36,851,554 in expenses, leaving a $1,144,430 deficit, which will be filled with reserve funds.

The new budget will also decrease the property tax rate on district homeowners due to a unique situation relating to state funding.

According to Business Manager Emily DiNardo, the district is in a “challenging” position regarding its tax revenue due to an uncommon situation resulting from the homestead or farmstead exclusion under Pennsylvania tax code.

The exclusion provides relief for qualifying home owners who occupy their property as a primary residence utilizing funds diverted from statewide gaming revenue.

Each school district receives a portion of this statewide funding pool to cover homestead exemptions in their respective district.

Washington School District receives about $1.9 million annually through this program, DiNardo said.

Since the district has more than 100 homes in the district assessed at less than half of the median property value of $87,800 necessary to qualify for the full exemption, there is a surplus of unused exemption funds allocated to the district that cannot be used for another purpose.

In effect, this results in the district taking in less annual property tax revenue year after year as the number of homes that qualify for the exemption that unlocks funds for the district slowly decreases.

DiNardo said that this situation is rare, and poses a continual challenge each budget cycle.

The preliminary budget included a full Act 1 millage increase of 5.1% up to 15.84908 mills, but due to the excess of exemption funds, the effective millage will be 14.7195, or $1,292 in annual tax burden for a median home.

District residents will pay about $32 less in school taxes this year due to the lower millage rate in the 2026-27 preliminary budget.

Superintendent Alisa King said the exemption fund situation is especially challenging for district administration since critical fixed costs – such as utilities, student transportation and staff salaries – continue to rise each year.

King said that despite the decrease in anticipated tax revenue, district leaders are committed to offering students abundant opportunities to pursue their educational and professional goals.

“It’s not about just sustaining programming, but expanding programming,” King said, noting that many smaller districts like ours strive to provide their students the quality resources with increasingly limited resources.

The budget is available for public inspection at the district office.