Public school districts in Pennsylvania are required to adopt a final budget no later than June 30 for each succeeding fiscal year.
Act 1 of 2006 establishes the process which school districts must follow in adopting their budgets. Act 1, as amended by Act 25 of 2011, establishes the maximum percentage that a school district may increase its real estate tax rate without voter referendum or exceptions that must be approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. This index is calculated based upon the Pennsylvania statewide average weekly wage and the Federal employment cost index for elementary/secondary schools, which is then adjusted for each district’s market value/personal income aid ratio.
Each fiscal year a school district must choose to either adopt a preliminary general fund budget or adopt a resolution stating that taxes will not be raised above the school district’s adjusted index. A preliminary budget must be adopted no later than 90 days prior to the primary election, and the resolution not to exceed the index must be adopted no later than 110 days prior to the primary election.
The 2025-2026 General Fund Budget
The proposed final budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year projects a 4.8075% increase in the real estate tax rate over the existing rate for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The Act 1 Index limit for Cornwall-Lebanon for the 2025-2026 fiscal year is 5.0%. The proposed increase would raise the millage rate from 18.3859 to 19.2698, amounting to a $153 increase in the real estate tax bill for the median homeowner having an assessed property value of $173,200.
Property tax relief in the amount of approximately $209 is expected to be provided to approved homestead and farmstead property owners on their July 1, 2025 property tax bills. This relief, as a part of the Pennsylvania Taxpayer Relief Act (Act 1 of 2006), includes the $181 provided last year and an additional $28 for 2025, and will appear directly on individual tax bills as a reduction in the assessed value of each approved homestead and farmstead property. To receive the property tax relief, the Application for Homestead & Farmstead Exclusions must have been filed by the preceding March 1 with the Lebanon County Board of Assessment. You would have been notified by December 31 if your property is not approved for the homestead or farmstead exclusion or if your approval is due to expire.
Total expenditures are projected to be $109.8 million in the 2025-2026 proposed final budget. The increase in expenditures represents a $6.3 million or 6.11% increase from the 2024-2025 budget. Major cost drivers include a $256,833 increase in third party cyber charter school tuition, a $696,761 increase in special education placements, and an $851,187 increase for employee healthcare. As part of the district’s long-term planning for renovation projects and bond repayments, a $750,000 increase in the debt service allocation is also a part of the proposed final budget.
Total revenues in the 2025-2026 proposed final budget are projected to increase by $3.6 million or 3.5% from the 2024-2025 budget before any tax increase. Without the proposed property tax increase, there would be a $3.1 million deficit. The proposed tax increase will generate an additional $3.1 million, increasing the total revenue 6.46% from the 2024-2025 budget.
The District anticipates using Assigned Fund Balance of $211,000 to balance the 2025-2026 budget, using previously assigned fund balance for retirement cost leveling and technology equipment.
Additional information regarding the proposed final budget was reviewed at the May 12, 2025 public work session held at Cedar Crest High School. The proposed final budget was approved at the regular meeting of Cornwall-Lebanon School District Board of School Directors on May 19, 2025.
View the 2025-26 Proposed Final General Fund Budget on PDE Form 2028
View the most recent Annual Financial Report (AFR) for 2023-2024 on PDE form 2057.