Slight tax hike included in Ringgold’s 2026-27 budget

The new spending plan contains a $148K reduction in expenditures from the original document.

The Ringgold School Board approved a $63 million budget Wednesday that includes a 0.4 mill property tax increase, adopting a spending plan that was reduced by more than $148,000 from the preliminary budget approved earlier this year.

The board voted 7-1 to adopt the district’s final 2026-27 general fund budget, which balances revenues and expenditures at $63,012,093. Board President Jason Briscoe, Vice President Carol Flament, Sherrie Garry, Heather Dougherty, Paul Mountain,  and Steven Toprani voted in favor of the spending plan. Gene Kennedy cast the lone dissenting vote. Director Heather Wilhelm was absent.

The final budget is $148,018 lower than the preliminary budget of $63,160,111 approved in May.

Following approval of the budget, the board voted 5-3 to approve a 0.4 mill property tax increase. Flament, Garry, Dougherty, Mountain and Wilhelm voted in favor of the increase, while Briscoe, Toprani and Kennedy voted against it.

The approved increase is lower than the 0.5 mill tax hike included in the district’s preliminary budget. District officials said the increase is intended to help offset rising operational expenses and state-mandated costs that continue to strain school district budgets across Pennsylvania.

School officials have identified escalating special education expenses, cyber and charter school tuition payments, transportation costs and health care expenses among the largest financial pressures affecting the district. State funding uncertainty also remains a concern as administrators prepare for the upcoming fiscal year.

According to budget documents, salaries and employee benefits account for 64% of district expenditures, making personnel costs the largest component of the spending plan. Debt service represents 11% of expenditures, while the remaining 25% covers operational costs, including transportation, utilities, supplies and other district services.

The district expects approximately 51% of its revenue to come from state funding, 47% from local sources and 2% from federal funding during the 2026-27 fiscal year. Revenue projections show the district anticipates receiving roughly $32 million from the state and nearly $30 million from local sources.

The tax increase remains below the district’s maximum allowable adjusted index increase of 0.8211 mills under state guidelines. District figures presented during budget discussions showed that a tax increase at the maximum adjusted index would have generated an estimated $1.07 million in additional revenue.

Budget discussions over the past several months have also focused on the challenges posed by declining enrollment. Board members previously acknowledged the difficulty of balancing increasing costs with the financial impact on taxpayers while exploring opportunities to reduce expenses in future budget cycles.

The approved budget takes effect July 1 and will fund district operations for the 2026-27 fiscal year.