Brandywine Heights Weighs 3.6% Tax Cap, $1.4M in Bills

The Brandywine Heights Area School Board is asked Monday to promise it will not raise property taxes for 2027-28 by more than 3.6%, and to approve $1,410,880.33 in general-fund bills. Both are on the Nov. 2 agenda, along with a bigger Google software bill, a $334,080 Pre-K Counts agreement, the first reading of four budget policies and a pre-apprenticeship deal with Pennsylvania College of Technology. The meeting is Monday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Intermediate/Middle School, 200 W. Weis St., Topton. This is our first story on the district, which serves Topton and District, Longswamp and Rockland townships, per its About Us page.

The tax pledge

Act 1 is Pennsylvania's 2006 school property-tax law. Each year the state sets an "index" for every district, and a board that wants to raise taxes by more than its index needs either state-approved exceptions or voter approval at a referendum. Item II.H on Monday's agenda is a motion "to adopt the resolution to not exceed the Act 1 index of 3.6% for the 2027-28 fiscal year" (agenda, p. 4). The resolution itself is listed as "Business H" but is not attached to the posted agenda.

The state's Act 1 index page explains the number: the base index averages the growth in the state's average weekly wage and a federal index of school employment costs, and districts whose "market value/personal income aid ratio" is above 0.4000 get a higher adjusted index. The Pennsylvania Bulletin notice of Sept. 5 set the 2027-28 base index at 3.6%, up from 3.5% this year, per the state's base-index history. The state's adjusted-index spreadsheet lists Brandywine Heights' aid ratio at 0.3830, below the cutoff, so its index is the plain 3.6% the agenda cites. By comparison, the same table gives Governor Mifflin 4.6% and Schuylkill Valley 4.3%. Governor Mifflin's board has the same kind of resolution on its Nov. 2 agenda for discussion, with adoption now set for its Nov. 16 voting meeting.

The state's guidance for school districts says every board must choose each year between adopting an early "preliminary" budget or a resolution stating "that taxes will not be raised above the school district's adjusted index." The state's sample resolution spells out the trade: a board that passes one "is not eligible to seek referendum exceptions" and is "not eligible to request approval from the voters through a referendum" to go above the index, but it also "is not required to comply with the preliminary budget requirements." Referendum exceptions are the state-approved reasons, such as special-education costs or pension payments, that let a district exceed its index without a vote; the state's exceptions page lists four. Under the state's 2027-28 timeline, the resolution is due by Jan. 28, 2027, with a copy to the state within five days.

A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of a property's assessed value; our guide explains how the school share of a Berks tax bill works. The county's 2026 tax-rate table lists the Brandywine Heights school rate at 37.719 mills in all four of its municipalities. By our arithmetic, 3.6% of that is about 1.36 mills, or about $136 a year for every $100,000 of assessed value. The pledge is a ceiling, not a tax increase: nothing on Monday's agenda proposes any increase, and the board sets the actual 2027-28 rate when it adopts a budget in June. For comparison, Schuylkill Valley raised school taxes about 3% for 2026-27. Homeowners who have not filed for the homestead exclusion, which lowers the school tax on an owner-occupied home, have until March 1, 2027 under the state timeline; our guide explains who qualifies.

Bills and a Google increase

Item II.A approves general-fund bills through Oct. 23 totaling $1,410,880.33; II.B and II.C approve $46,867.91 in food-service bills and $52,371.09 from the capital reserve fund, which pays for buildings and equipment (agenda, p. 4). The bill lists themselves are not attached. The board also accepts financial reports through Sept. 30; the budget-transfers line reads "No Report."

Item II.F.2 is a three-year agreement with CDW, running November 2026 to November 2029, to buy Google Workspace for Education licenses for staff and students at $22,485.60, paid $7,495.20 a year. The agenda says that "due to a shift in licensing structure, removal of free staff licenses and increased costs, this equates to an increase of $1,195 annually from our previous agreement which was $6,300 annually" (p. 4). Item II.F.1 ratifies a $2,273.44 contract with the Berks County Intermediate Unit to provide Title I services to nonpublic schools this year, "pending receipt of contract." To ratify is to approve something after the fact.

Pre-K Counts

Pre-K Counts is a state preschool program run through the Pennsylvania Department of Education; the state's program page says it "provides quality half-day and full-day pre-kindergarten to eligible 3 and 4 year olds," free to eligible families, which the state defines as children at risk of school failure living in families earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level. Items III.B and III.C ratify the district's Pre-K Counts agreement with the Berks County Intermediate Unit for 2026-27 and an amendment to it. The agenda says the district "will serve as a grantee partner, supporting 32 full-day Pre-K Counts students across two classrooms," that "the partner agency will receive $330,240 in compensation for providing 180 days of Pre-K Counts services," and that the amendment adds $3,840, "bring[ing] the total grant funding to $334,080" (p. 5). The agreement runs July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, so the board is approving a deal already four months in.

Budget policies, and ten more

Board policies get two readings at separate meetings; the second is normally the vote that puts the policy in force. Item I.C is the first reading of four policies in the 600 series, the finance section of the policy manual: 601 Fiscal Objectives, 602 Budget Planning, 603 Budget Preparation and 604 Budget Adoption (agenda, p. 3). The drafts are not attached and the agenda does not say what changes.

Item I.B is the second reading of ten policies: 102 Academic Standards, 105 Curriculum, 204.1 Virtual Attendance and Wellness Checks, 209 Health Examinations/Screenings, 246 School Wellness, 249 Bullying/Cyberbullying, 704 Maintenance, 803 School Calendar, 805.2 School Security Personnel and 822 Automated External Defibrillator/CPR (p. 3). The same ten had their first reading on the Oct. 5 agenda. No drafts are posted with either agenda.

Hires and departures

Item IV.A.2 accepts the retirement of Charlotte Frederic, a high school custodian, effective Dec. 18 (agenda, p. 6). Item IV.C.3.a ratifies Megan Moore as a long-term substitute school counselor at the high school, filling in for Amy Yusella, "at a prorated per diem salary of B+24, Step 1," effective Oct. 26; B+24 is the pay column for a bachelor's degree plus 24 credits. The agenda carries two items on Jill Stopay: IV.C.3.b ratifies her as a long-term substitute learning support teacher at the middle school, filling in for a teacher named Polaha, at M+12, Step 1, "effective October 19-26, 2026," and IV.A.3 accepts her resignation from that post effective Oct. 26 (p. 6). The agenda does not explain the one-week tenure. Item IV.F.1 names mentors for both substitutes at a $650 stipend, prorated: Adam Beacker and Yusella, split, for Moore, and Terry Flamm for Stopay (p. 7). No dollar figures for the substitutes are printed.

Penn College pre-apprenticeship

Item III.A is a "training service agreement" with Pennsylvania College of Technology so students can take part in its Advanced Manufacturing Pre-Apprenticeship program. The agenda says the program "provides students with foundational manufacturing skills through online modules, instructor-led labs, and industry engagement opportunities" and lets students "pursue an industry-recognized certification"; it runs through June 30, 2027 (p. 5). The agenda lists two supporting documents, a program description and a "Board Proposal Overview," but neither is attached and no cost is stated.

Also on the agenda

• Item II.G.1 is a $1,500 proposal from ATT Sports, Inc. to patch damaged areas of the high school stadium track with red urethane and crumb rubber, one day of work plus two days of curing (p. 4). Item II.G.2 buys an 8-by-28-foot chicken coop and run from Oley Valley Feed for the high school agriculture program at $7,688, of which $7,500 is grant funded.
• Items II.J, II.K and II.L ratify the purchase of the district's remaining 2026-27 fuel through the IU13 bulk program on Oct. 20 "at the updated pricing," and the district's participation in the 2027-28 BCIU fuel bid and the IU13 CAFCO food-service bid (p. 5). No prices are printed. Item II.I approves the fall update of Krise Transportation's contracted driver list.
• Item IV.C.4.d approves a cooperative sponsorship with Schuylkill Valley School District for boys lacrosse in spring 2027. Item IV.C.4.e reapproves a JV rifle coach for one year at a $2,800 stipend; the agenda says the post was a one-year appointment in 2025-26 and participation is similar (p. 7). Winter coaches, event workers and coaching resignations are listed as attachments only.
• Items III.D and III.E create two high school clubs, a Dungeons & Dragons Club and a "Fellowship Club/Group"; the agenda says the second must adopt bylaws before fundraising or opening a bank account (p. 6).
• Recognitions (pp. 1-2) include a $15,250 desktop driving simulator donated by AAA Reading-Berks for the high school, $13,370 from the Brandywine Heights Education Foundation for Teacher Impact Grants to 16 teachers, the boys soccer team's BCIAA Division 4 title at 15-1-2 and No. 2 seed in the District 3 Class AA playoffs, Grant Wagaman's county-leading 24 goals, and BCIAA Gold Leaf inductees Justin Werley and John Stichter.
• Item I.A approves the Oct. 5 minutes, which the district's meetings page had not posted as of Saturday.

How to attend

Monday, Nov. 2, 6 p.m. The agenda puts the meeting in the Intermediate/Middle School "Large Group Instruction Room"; the district's meetings page says board meetings are held in the "District Board Meeting Room" at the same school "unless otherwise noted." The address is 200 W. Weis St., Topton, per the district's website. The agenda has a "PUBLIC COMMENT relative to Agenda items" slot after the student representatives' report and before any votes, and a second public comment period under Other Business at the end (pp. 2, 7). The district has posted a YouTube livestream link for each meeting this school year, but as of Saturday the Nov. 2 row showed none. The board's reorganization meeting, where it elects officers, and its December regular meeting are both set for Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m.