These Centre County school districts will raise taxes for 2025-26. See the budgets
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Four Centre County school districts plan real estate tax hikes for 2025-26.
- Districts cite rising health care costs, staffing and building projects as cost drivers.
- Some district budgets outline plans to hire new positions and fund capital projects.
Nearly every Centre County public school district is expected to raise real estate taxes for the 2025-26 budget year.
State College, Bellefonte, Bald Eagle and Philipsburg-Osceola’s districts will each raise taxes this year to keep up with rising expenses, according to preliminary budgets released by district officials this spring. Broadly, districts cited rising health care costs, new hires and planned renovations and construction projects as major factors driving larger budgets.
Here’s a look at how each Centre County school district plans to raise taxes and plan its budget for the 2025-26 school year.
Bald Eagle School District
Total estimated revenues: $38,300,131
Total estimated expenses: $39,300,131
Real estate tax increase: 1.6%
Annual tax increase for the average homeowner: $13
What’s next: Bald Eagle’s school board voted to approve the 2025-26 budget at its June 11 meeting.
More information: The district will cover its $1 million deficit using its fund balance, business manager Colette Tanner said. The upcoming budget factors in a 20% increase in health care benefit costs for the 2025-26 year, raising the cost of benefits by about $800,000.
Though the annual tax increase for the average Bald Eagle district homeowner is roughly $31 on paper, additional relief will bring that hike down for a good chunk of taxpayers, Tanner said. Bald Eagle’s district sits above the 50% median threshold for homestead/farmstead exclusion, and a good chunk of taxpayers will see relief through the program. With homestead/farmstead relief included, the average taxpayer would see a roughly $13 increase based on the average assessed value, the district’s business manager said.
You can view Bald Eagle’s 2025-26 budget on the district’s website.
Bellefonte Area School District
Total estimated revenues: $62,085,000
Total estimated expenses: $65,175,000
Real estate tax increase: 2.5%
Annual tax increase for the average homeowner: $26.96
What’s next: Bellefonte’s school board voted to approve its 2025-26 final budget at June 10’s meeting.
More information: Bellefonte’s district will draw nearly $3.1 million from its fund balance to cover its budget deficit for the 2025-26 year, according to its final budget. Administrators said the district expects to spend roughly $400,000 more on health insurance costs next year.
Bellefonte’s 2025-26 budget will help the district hire several new positions, including a new teacher for the BeLA online learning academy, an additional school police officer and a new social worker. The proposed budget also includes funding that will provide new language arts curriculum across the district and combat rising special education costs.
The upcoming budget also includes significant costs tied to ongoing construction projects throughout Bellefonte’s district. The district’s new $55.3 million elementary school remains largely on track to open in time for the 2026-27 school year, while administrators are also planning a $5.79 million renovations project for Pleasant Gap Elementary School that, if approved, would upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and other infrastructure needs.
“While we have a 2.5% increase, we’re providing for our students, providing for the safety and continuing education while still, I believe, maintaining a relatively low increase on real estate taxes,” Bean said at May 21’s school board meeting.
The district will receive more than $2.05 million in homestead/farmstead relief next year, according to Ken Bean, Bellefonte’s director of fiscal affairs. Relief funding will greatly reduce tax increases for nearly 6,500 approved properties within the district’s boundaries, resulting in a $26.96 increase for the average Bellefonte taxpayer. Without that relief, the average tax increase would shoot up to $73.45.
You can view Bellefonte’s 2025-26 budget through the district’s website.
Penns Valley Area School District
Total estimated revenues: $34,560,437
Total estimated expenses: $34,560,437
Real estate tax increase: 0%
Annual tax increase for the average homeowner: $0
What’s next: Penns Valley’s school board voted to approve the district’s proposed final budget on May 21. The board will vote on a measure to approve the budget at its June 25 meeting.
More information: Once again presenting a balanced budget, Penns Valley’s district did not request a tax increase for the 2025-26 year.
Administrators cited several key factors behind increased costs, including hikes in health insurance costs (up by more than $250,000) and expenditures for cyber and charter school tuition (up by roughly $755,000). The district expects a significant increase in cyber and charter school enrollment next year, business manager Lynn Naugle said.
Naugle said the district is expected to receive an additional $120,000 in property tax relief funds that will increase homestead/farmstead exclusions for eligible properties. The additional relief should save the average qualified homesteader around $40 next year, she said.
You can view Penns Valley’s proposed 2025-26 budget through the district’s website.
Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District
Total estimated revenues: $38,710,244
Total estimated expenses: $39,177,981
Real estate tax increase: 4.1% in Centre County
Annual tax increase for the average Centre County homeowner: $24
What’s next: Philipsburg-Osceola’s school board is expected to vote on a measure to potentially finalize the 2025-26 budget at its June 25 meeting.
More information: Split between Centre and Clearfield counties, Philipsburg-Osceola’s budget is on the rise due to a more than 20% increase in health insurance costs projected for next year, according to business manager Thomas Martin.
The average qualifying taxpayer in Centre County will receive significant savings through homestead/farmstead relief next year, Martin said. Qualifying taxpayers received about $331 in homestead/farmstead relief for the 2024-25 year, but that will jump nearly 17% to $387 in such relief next year.
You can view Philipsburg-Osceola’s proposed final budget on the district’s website.
State College Area School District
Total estimated revenues: $207,532,731
Total estimated expenses: $211,522,675
Real estate tax increase: 4%
Annual tax increase for the average homeowner: $147
What’s next: State College’s school board approved the district’s 2025-26 final budget at its June 2 meeting.
More information: State College’s tax increase matches the maximum allowable hike under Pennsylvania’s Act 1 index and marks the fourth straight year the district has raised taxes after keeping them level during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 budget years.
Personnel costs like pay and benefits, which are expected to rise by roughly $8.9 million next year, comprise roughly 75% of the budget’s total expenditures. Health insurance costs are projected to climb by more than $2.3 million next year.
The budget includes funding that will help the district hire six new positions during the 2025-26 budget year, including a new special education teacher, a new business education teacher and a new school psychologist. The district will also raise pay rates for substitute teachers next year.
During budget discussions this spring, district administrators cited future financial challenges and responsibilities — including the construction of a new Park Forest Middle School and renovations to Mount Nittany Elementary — as a major factor behind the proposed tax increase.
“It’s not just for next year’s budget, which is also operating in a deficit,” financial director Randy Brown said at April 7’s board meeting. “It’s also building the capacity in tax revenue and revenue in general for the district for what’s upcoming.”
You can view State College’s 2025-26 final budget on the district’s website.
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