Mifflinburg School Board weighs 1.75% tax hike in preliminary budget

A Mifflinburg-area homeowner with a house assessed at $150,000 would pay about $40.65 more a year if the school board adopts its proposed 1.75 percent property-tax increase, a small change in dollars that still lands directly in household budgets.

The Mifflinburg Area School District board approved the 2026-27 preliminary budget during a public meeting April 15, setting up a spending plan of $40,608,960 in revenue and $40,531,132 in expenditures. That leaves a projected surplus of about $78,000 and would raise the millage rate from 15.569 to 15.84 if the board keeps the proposal at the current level when it votes on a final budget in June.

Business Manager Renee Jilinski told board members the district is in a strong financial position and that it budgets for liabilities in case they occur, underscoring the district's effort to keep finances steady while still covering costs that can arrive without warning. Superintendent Ken Dady Jr. said the board could lower the tax increase before final adoption, but once the preliminary budget is set it cannot go above the 1.75 percent cap.

The spending plan also includes about $300,000 in larger purchases and staffing decisions, including a new middle school teacher, an agriculture bus, an intramural sports and art functional trailer, and new instruments for the middle school concert band, including a bassoon and a baritone saxophone. Those additions show where the district sees pressure points, from staffing and student programming to transportation and fine arts, even as it tries to keep the tax increase limited.

The board also approved the business administrator seeking Builders Risk insurance for the new stadium entry, bleachers, turf and lighting, and it approved a job description for an assistant business administrator. Taken together, the preliminary budget points to a district balancing construction costs, personnel needs and program support while trying to keep the tax impact on Union County homeowners restrained.