Governor Mifflin Board Weighs 4.6% Tax Cap, $123,000 Hire

The Governor Mifflin School Board is asked Monday to promise it will not raise property taxes for 2027-28 by more than 4.6%, and to name a new principal for Cumru Elementary at $123,000 a year. Both are voting items on the Nov. 2 Work/General Purposes agenda. The meeting is Monday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. at the Governor Mifflin Education Center, 10 South Waverly St., Shillington.

The board's Oct. 26 votes, including the appointment of Dr. Steven Murray as substitute superintendent and the first reading of the search policy, have no posted minutes yet; the district's meetings page lists only the agenda for that night. Our Oct. 26 preview covers what was on the table.

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 6.4 is an "Accelerated Budget Opt Out Resolution" in which the board would certify that "the applicable index for the next fiscal year is 4.6%," that it "will not for the next fiscal year increase the rate of its real estate tax, or any other tax for the support of public education, by an amount that exceeds the applicable index," and that it "understands that the school district will not be eligible to use Act 1 referendum exceptions for the next fiscal year." Item 6.5 is the motion to approve it.

Adopting the resolution lets the district skip the early "preliminary budget" the law otherwise requires by February and follow the ordinary schedule instead. The district's one-page budget timeline, which CFO Kelly Price is to review under item 6.3, sets board adoption of the proposed final budget for May 17, 2027 and of the final budget for June 21, 2027. The timeline's reason for the resolution is one line: "No Act 1 Referendum – must adopt opt-out resolution due to receipt of adequacy supplement." It does not explain the supplement further.

The documents disagree on when the vote happens. The resolution's signature block reads "ADOPTED by the School Board November 16, 2026," and the timeline says "November 16th Board adopts Opt-Out Resolution." The Nov. 2 agenda, though, lists the resolution as a voting item with its own motion. The resolution says the legal deadline is Jan. 28, 2027. Either way, the pledge is a ceiling, not a tax increase: the board sets the actual 2027-28 rate when it adopts the budget in June.

The 4.6% is Governor Mifflin's own number. The state's Sept. 30 letter puts the base index for 2027-28 at 3.6% and says districts with a "market value/personal income aid ratio greater than 0.4000" get a higher adjusted index. The district's timeline says its adjusted index "is 4.6% or 1.59 mills," and the state's posted 2027-28 adjusted-index table lists Governor Mifflin at 4.6%. 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 Governor Mifflin's current school rate at 34.61 mills in Brecknock, Cumru, Kenhorst, Mohnton and Shillington; 4.6% of 34.61 is 1.59 mills, matching the timeline. The district's own Budget Breakdown 2026 deck, linked from its budget town hall page, says the 2026-27 rate of 34.61 was a 1.49-mill, 4.5% increase over 2025-26's 33.12, that last year's index was 4.5%, and that the district has used Act 1 exceptions "5 times in the last 20 years."

By our arithmetic, a full 1.59-mill increase would add $159 a year for every $100,000 of assessed value, or about $197 on the $123,937 average assessment the deck cites. Nothing on Monday's agenda proposes any increase; the resolution only rules out a bigger one. For comparison, Schuylkill Valley raised school taxes 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.

A new Cumru Elementary principal

Item 7.1 asks the board to appoint "Mrs. Victoria 'Tory' Bilger as Cumru Elementary Principal; effective December 1, 2026; Act 93 Administrative salary $123,000 (replacing Mr. Brian Cote - resignation)." Act 93 is the state law that governs pay plans for school administrators. The agenda says Bilger "currently serves as a High School Associate Principal." Cote's resignation was on the Oct. 26 list as "effective December 4, 2026," per that meeting's resignations document.

Item 7.7, the status changes list, would move JP Gibbons from middle school guidance counselor to "Middle School, Dean of Students (teacher-on-assignment position); effective November 2, 2026 through June 6, 2027; GMEA salary plus $50 per diem (covering Associate Principal vacancy)." GMEA is the teachers' union, so he would keep a teacher's salary plus $50 a day. The document does not say which associate-principal job is vacant; Bilger's post is at the high school, not the middle school. The same list would move Megan Bechtel from a Mifflin Park second-grade classroom to Mifflin Park librarian for 2027-28, replacing Alison Clark, who resigned; Koryn Jones-Garman from Mifflin Park special education into Bechtel's second-grade spot for 2027-28; and Andrew Lewith from second-shift custodial supervisor at the high school to first shift at Mifflin Park, date to be determined, replacing retiree Jason Peters. Items 7.1 and 7.7 are the only personnel items with a motion Monday (7.10).

Reorganizing on a Tuesday

Item 5.1 would set the board's annual reorganization meeting, where it elects officers, for "Tuesday, December 1, 2026, 7:00pm, in the Education Center Board Room." The agenda's note says "The Reorganization meeting and the Work meeting are both scheduled for Tuesday, December 1, 2026 due to Monday, December 1st being a district holiday (last day of Thanksgiving break). The Reorganization must be held in the first week of December." Dec. 1, 2026 is a Tuesday; the Monday the note appears to mean is Nov. 30. The board normally meets on first and third Mondays.

Print shop lease

Item 6.2 asks approval of a 66-month lease with Edwards Business Systems of West Reading to replace three print-shop machines. The Oct. 12 proposal, addressed to Price, John Carabello and Ashley Shannon, says the district's two Konica Minolta AccurioPress 6120 black-and-white presses, installed in 2019 and 2021, are on leases expiring in October 2026 and were discontinued by the maker in November 2023; its AccurioPrint C4065 color press, installed in January 2022, expires in January 2027 and was discontinued in May 2026 (p. 3). The two 6120s average 172,676 and 274,899 pages a month. The vendor proposes two AccurioPress 7120s and one AccurioPress C5070 under a single agreement "with lower service/maintenance rates" (p. 3).

The financial page (p. 15) totals the current monthly cost at $9,039.84 and the proposed cost at $8,435.09, a difference the proposal labels "Savings $605/month, $7,260/year." Those totals include per-page service charges that rise and fall with printing volume; the fixed lease portion alone would be $2,370 a month, or $156,420 over 66 months by our arithmetic. The proposal lists three validity terms (p. 15): "22 calendar days from the issue date," which from Oct. 12 is Nov. 3; "the last day of the calendar quarter of issuance, or until the specified products are no longer available"; and "upon credit approval." The agenda describes 6.2 as "Requesting Approval" but lists no motion for it; the only motions Monday cover items 6.4, 7.1, 7.7 and 10.1. The agenda does not say whether the lease is a Nov. 2 or Nov. 16 vote.

Two policies

Item 12.1 is the second reading of the revised Policy 226, Searches, which drew much of the public comment at the Oct. 5 work session; the first reading was Oct. 26, as our preview described. The agenda's note says "The Board will conclude discussion on edits before the draft is finalized for the November 16th Voting meeting." No new draft is attached to the Nov. 2 agenda.

Item 12.2 is a first reading of Policy 807, Opening Exercises/Flag Displays. The revised draft adds one sentence: "A Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) flag shall be displayed on or near each school building during school hours, in clement weather and at other times determined by the Board." The district's summary says the change anticipates Senate Bill 835, which it describes as having passed the State Senate unanimously in June 2026 and as "currently in the House of Representatives for consideration," and that Cliff Kerchner of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 131 "has generously offered to acquire POW/MIA flags for the district at no cost," with "a springtime ceremony" planned. Both the summary and the draft are stamped "First Reading: November 16, 2026" and "Second Reading: December 21, 2026," while the agenda lists the first reading for Nov. 2. The General Assembly's bill tracker shows SB 835 passed the Senate 50-0 on June 8 and has sat in the House Education Committee since June 9.

Also on the agenda

• Item 11.1 would award a contract for "EMS and ADA Signage installations at the High School, Middle School, and GMIS to the lowest qualified bidder," paid for by the 2025-26 PCCD School Safety & Mental Health Grant. Bids open Nov. 4, and the agenda says the award details come "prior to November 16th Voting meeting."
• Item 9.1 is a "Settlement Agreement & Release for Student 809461." No amount or attachment is posted.
• Item 7.3 is the retirement of Patricia Schouch, part-time middle school food service, effective Oct. 29 after 22 years, per the retirements list. Item 7.4's resignations are Liam Galvin, a full-time Brecknock custodian, effective Nov. 13; Kamryn Hoover, a Mifflin Park paraprofessional, effective Oct. 28; and three co-curricular advisors. Item 7.6's employments list would hire Laura Nwankwor as a Mifflin Park kindergarten teacher for 2027-28 at "Masters Step 3," replacing Laurie Connelly, and names Holly Burd to a Brecknock after-school reading program starting Nov. 18. No dollar figures are printed.
• Item 7.2 would renew a five-year student-teaching and internship agreement with Kutztown University. Item 8.1 is the high school ski club's Vermont trip, Feb. 25-28, 2027, at a district cost of "four (4) substitute teachers for one day"; item 8.2 is a service-learning club trip to Arizona and Utah in June 2027 "at no cost to the district."
• Item 10.1, with its own motion (10.3), is the 2026-27 winter coaching list: the senior high head basketball and wrestling coaches at a $7,073.57 base (the list's full base is $7,859.52), with separate increment and service columns the list does not explain, and the junior high wrestling head and a diving associate coach still listed as "(Pending)."
• Item 6.1, monthly budget transfers, has no data yet; the agenda says it will be available Nov. 16.
• Communications (items 15.1 and 15.2) are listed as "Mr. Jeffrey Wolfe - Revision of Policy 223" and "Mr. Cody Hancock - Female Sports at GMSD," with no further description. Two Right-to-Know requests are logged: Alyssa Oxenreider asked for the "total cost, including conference fees, airfare, meals and other costs for years 2024, 2025 and 2026 for every employee attending Learning Forward conferences," and Mark Johnson "requested an Employee Directory of all staff members." Our guide explains how the records law works.

How to attend

Monday, Nov. 2, 7 p.m., Governor Mifflin Education Center, 10 South Waverly St., Shillington. Public comment is item 4; the agenda says to "complete and submit yellow card to the Board Recording Secretary prior to the start of the meeting," and the district's board page limits remarks to three minutes. Meetings also stream on Zoom, with a link on the Keystone Agenda page. The next voting meeting is Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.; the reorganization and December work meeting would follow on Tuesday, Dec. 1, if item 5.1 passes.