Freeport Area weighs how fast to raise taxes as decision on high school renovation nears

Property owners in the Freeport Area School District may be facing a tax increase for next school year, even though the school board passed a preliminary budget that includes no tax increase.

That’s because the preliminary 2025-26 budget shows a $450,000 deficit, and administrators warn more revenue will be needed to make long-debated improvements to the high school.

“If the board wishes to move forward with repairs or renovations … our recommendation is to layer that millage in now to avoid a sharp increase down the road,” Brad Walker, director of finance and operations, told the board last week.

Pennsylvania capped the maximum tax increase for most districts this year at 5.3%.

School Director Michael Huth said the district shouldn’t be looking at anything less than 3%.

No matter what, property owners in Buffalo Township, the district’s only Butler County community, are expected to pay more going forward.

Each year, the State Tax Equalization Board adjusts the tax burden in Pennsylvania’s 90 or so school districts whose boundaries span two counties in order to reflect the market value of taxable property. The process shifts the tax burden between counties but does not impact overall revenue.

On properties at the Butler County median assessed value of about $25,000, owners in Buffalo Township would see their annual tax bill rise by roughly $11.

In the Armstrong County communities of Freeport and South Buffalo, with a combined median assessed value of about $34,000, the bill would fall by roughly $20, continuing a yearslong trend.

Those numbers could shift slightly once updated median assessments come in.

The draft budget clocks in just shy of $40 million, compared to about $38 million this school year. A nearly $1 million spike in salary and benefit costs is driving much of the change.

A final vote on the budget is slated for June 11.

Renovation discussions

Board President Gary Risch Jr. also hopes for a decision next month on renovations.

For almost three years, the district has mulled over major work on the high school. The building underwent renovations in 1967 and 1987, but much of it remains unchanged from when it opened in 1960.

A new roof, windows, lighting and a heating and cooling system are among the top priorities, comprising a stripped-back, $25 million version of a proposed renovation. A $55 million iteration would allow for a wider range of upgrades.

The options are detailed online at freeport.k12.pa.us/high-school-project.

Throughout all this deliberation, the building’s sewage system has deteriorated.

An engineer has described the plumbing situation as “total system failure” and recommended a full $3.1 million replacement, according to Walker. The existing proposals, created before the true scope of the issue was known, do not fully account for this cost.

This story was updated May 10, 2025, to correct an attribution.