Tax hikes planned for these Centre County school districts. See 2026-27 budgets
Nearly every public school district in Centre County is expected to raise real estate taxes for the 2026-27 budget year.
State College, Bellefonte, Bald Eagle Area and Philipsburg-Osceola’s districts are each set to raise taxes this year to keep up with rising expenses, according to budget drafts presented by administrators this spring. Districts routinely cited rising healthcare costs, new hires and inadequate state and federal funding as key drivers behind planned tax hikes.
Here’s a look at how each school district is planning its finances for the 2026-27 budget year.
Bald Eagle Area School District
Total estimated revenues: $38,986,264
Total estimated expenses: $40,573,595
Real estate tax increase: 0.91%
Annual tax increase for the average homeowner: $17.80 (before homestead/farmstead exclusions)
What’s next: The district’s school board is expected to adopt the final 2026-27 budget at its June 24 meeting.
More information: Bald Eagle Area’s next budget will increase the district’s gross millage by about 0.57 mills, but the actual millage residents will pay should remain virtually the same when the district’s net millage rises from 62.39 to 62.40 mills, according to Colette Tanner, the district’s business manager.
“This is being done to maintain our current revenue levels, while effectively holding the amount charged to our taxpayers level in terms of their net millage rate,” Tanner wrote in an email.
The district’s 2026-27 budget appears likely to arrive roughly $600,000 under budget, but the nearly $800,000 set aside for a 25% match clause through Pennsylvania’s Public School Facility Improvement Grant program will be spent only if Bald Eagle Area’s grant application is awarded and fully funded — a prospect Christopher Santini, the superintendent, says is “very unlikely.” Most have received only partial funding since the grant program launched statewide two years ago.
Administrators believe the district will ultimately balance its budget by the end of the 2026-27 year, Santini said. If the grant to improve facilities is awarded and fully funded, Bald Eagle Area will use capital reserve funds to cover the expenses.
You can view the district’s proposed final budget at beasd.org/page/finance.
Bellefonte Area School District
Total estimated revenues: $65,100,000
Total estimated expenses: $70,450,000
Real estate tax increase: 2.5%
Annual tax increase for the average homeowner: $80.45 (before homestead/farmstead exclusions)
What’s next: Bellefonte’s district is expected to approve its final 2026-27 budget at its June 16 board meeting.
More information: Bellefonte’s next budget sets aside roughly $2 million for future building projects, including the installation of new roofs at its high school and the Marion-Walker and Pleasant Gap elementary schools. Additional renovations will upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at Bellefonte’s middle school and fix up some district paring lots.
The budget also sets aside funds to hire a new special education paraprofessional educator and purchase new marching band uniforms and an $840,000 math curriculum. Additionally, Bellefonte’s district will spend $150,000 to purchase two handicap-accessible vans.
Penns Valley Area School District
Total estimated revenues: $35,692,683
Total estimated expenses: $35,692,683
Real estate tax increase: 0%
Annual tax increase for the average homeowner: $0
What’s next: Penns Valley’s school board will consider a measure to approve the district’s final budget at its June 16 meeting.
More information: Penns Valley’s next budget funds the planned hire of an additional special education teacher, which will help the district keep up with growing needs and increase capacity for the department.
Expenditures planned for the 2026-27 budget rose by nearly 3.3% compared to the 2025-26 budget. Key drivers include transportation services (up by $103,500), health insurance benefits (up by $425,000) and building operations, which grew by $126,600 but had cost hikes tempered by $45,000 in savings thanks to a boiler conversion project at Penns Valley’s junior-senior high school.
Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District
Total estimated revenues: $39,302,056
Total estimated expenses: $39,302,056
Real estate tax increase: 3.25%
Annual tax increase for the average homeowner: $67 (before homestead/farmstead exclusions)
What’s next: Philipsburg-Osceola’s school board is expected to approve the adoption of its final 2026-27 budget at its June 22 meeting.
More information: Thomas Martin, the district’s finance director, said a large chunk of the tax increase planned for 2026-27 budget comes through the recent rebalancing of assessed values for in-district properties in Centre County, as required periodically for split-county districts under Pennsylvania’s school code. Roughly 2.31% of the planned tax increase comes as a result of the rebalancing, while the remaining 0.94% was approved by the school board.
No programs or services are expected to be eliminated through Philipsburg-Osceola’s next budget. Martin said the district was able to balance its budget by choosing not to fill some positions left vacant by retirements in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years.
State College Area School District
Total estimated revenues: $214,535,784
Total estimated expenses: $218,804,373
Real estate tax increase: 3.5%
Annual tax increase for the average homeowner: $134 (before homestead/farmstead exclusions)
What’s next: State College’s school board approved the adoption of the district’s 2026-27 budget on June 1.
More information: The 2026-27 budget marks the fifth straight year State College’s district will raise taxes. Administrators cited growing costs for health insurance and special education, as well as a lack of adequate state funding, as key drivers behind the tax hike.
State College’s next budget includes funding for two new custodial positions, a co-ed hockey coach and a co-ed club rugby coach. The district is also expected to hire a 0.17 full-time equivalent middle school science teacher to cover an accelerated course.
Planned hires do not yet include new special education staffing, administrators said during budget presentations this spring. State College is expected to add up to four new special education staff members to comply with ratio mandates for special education services.
Joe Viglione, the district’s assistant business manager, said state funding for Pennsylvania’s public school districts has not kept pace with inflation in recent years, while federal funding has returned to normal levels following a multi-year spike at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fluxes in funding present obstacles for the district.
“We’re not talking to you about a budget problem. We’re talking to you about a budget challenge,” Viglione told State College’s school board in April. “We’re still in a solid place, but there are challenges ahead of us and decisions that are going to need to be made over the course of the next year or years to make sure we stay in line and meet what our responsibilities are — not only from a district lens, but also from a state and federal lens.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 3:30 PM.
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