As anticipated, the Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board voted to approve a final budget for the next school year, and there is a tax increase.
The budget is balanced, with expenses and revenues expected to be $111,265,549. The real estate taxes are 34.95 mils for Chester County property owners, and 20.21 mils in Delaware County. The weighted average is 3.47 percent. (A mil is a tax of $1 for every dollar of assessed property value.)
Those millage rates include an increase of 3.07 percent in Chester County, and a 4.99 percent increase in Delaware County.
According to School Director Brian Schartz, “The weighted average is less than the Act 1 index of 3.50 percent and, for the first time in my short memory here, we have a structurally balanced budget.”
The measure passed unanimously, 7-0, with two members not in attendance.
Other business
• The board also approved cost proposals for two items: replacing the turf surface on the high school baseball batting cages, and another to furnish and install a new large-format projector and a new 20’ motorized roll-down screen at Hillendale Elementary’s gym/stage.
Replacing the turf will cost about $29,500, and replacing the projector at Hillendale will cost $38,900. The project was awarded to Visual Sound, while the turf replacement was awarded to Green Ridge Landscaping, Inc.
Those votes were also unanimous.
• Bret Thomas was named the new Hillendale Elementary School principal, taking over from Josh Leight, who was appointed to be the Director of Human Resources in April. Superintendent of Schools Tim Hoffman introduced Thomas, saying he came from Marple-Newtown, where he was principal at Russell Elementary School.
Thomas said he was “humbled and grateful” to be in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, adding that “I’m very excited to get started and can’t wait.”
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
