Upper Perkiomen Weighs 4.4% Tax Cap; Hamburg Banks $2.5M

The school board that taxes Hereford Township votes tonight on a promise not to raise property taxes for 2027-28 by more than 4.4 percent, and new minutes show the Hamburg Area School Board put $2,500,000 of its savings aside for a high school renovation on a 7-0 vote.

Upper Perkiomen: a 4.4 percent ceiling for Hereford taxpayers

Hereford Township is the only Berks municipality in the Upper Perkiomen School District, a Montgomery County district based in Pennsburg (to check which district taxes your home, see our school district guide). The board meets Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m., and action item 12.4 on the agenda is a "Motion to adopt the attached Accelerated Budget Opt-Out Resolution, as per the recommendation from the Finance Committee, certifying that the real estate tax rate will not increase by more than the Adjusted Act 1 Index of 4.4% for the 2027-2028 Budget."

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. "For FY 2027-2028, the base index is 3.6%," per the state's Pennsylvania Bulletin notice of Sept. 5; districts with less local wealth per student get an adjusted, higher number, per the state's index page. The Department of Education's 2027-28 adjusted index listing puts Upper Perkiomen at 4.4 percent, on a 2026-27 aid ratio of 0.4755. The district's own Oct. 8 budget presentation shows the same 4.4 percent, up from 4.2 percent this year, after 4.9 percent in 2025-26 and 6.6 percent in 2024-25.

An opt-out resolution is a pledge to stay at or under that index. The resolution, dated "the 12th day of November 2026," has the board certify "that there will be no increase in the rate of any tax for the support of its public schools for the 2027-2028 fiscal year by more than the Index," that a tax increase "less than or equal to the established index will be sufficient to balance its final budget," and that the district "shall not be eligible to seek referendum exceptions under Section 333 (f) of the Taxpayer Relief Act." Referendum exceptions are the state-approved reasons, such as pension costs or special education, that let a district go above its index without a vote; the state's exceptions page lists them. In exchange for giving those up, the district skips the state's early preliminary-budget calendar. The resolution carries no mill or dollar figures, and it is a ceiling, not a tax increase. Antietam, Oley Valley and Conrad Weiser have taken or weighed the same step this month, at 5.3 percent, 3.6 percent and 4.6 percent.

What 4.4 percent means in mills comes from the district's adopted 2026-27 budget, the PDE-2028 form marked "Date of Adoption of the General Fund Budget: 06/25/2026," printed July 1 and posted on the business office page as the final budget. Its Real Estate Tax Rate Report (printed pp. 8-10) sets the 2026-27 rate at 29.0242 mills in both Berks and Montgomery counties, up 0.75 percent from 28.8081 mills. Berks County's 2026 tax table lists the same rate, 0.0290242, on the Hereford row, and our school district guide carries it as 29.024 mills. (A proposed version printed in May, also on the business office page, carried 29.0962 mills and was superseded.) The Berks share of the district is small: $200,497,891 of assessed value, 11.19 percent of the district's market value, generating a $5,819,291 levy against $48,517,316 from Montgomery County (p. 8). Our arithmetic: 4.4 percent of 29.0242 mills is 1.2771 mills, so the most the rate could reach under tonight's pledge is about 30.3013 mills. A Hereford home assessed at $100,000 pays $2,902.42 in district tax this year and could pay at most about $127.71 more next year under the cap. Homeowners with an approved homestead exclusion pay less: the adopted budget lists an exclusion of $11,386 of assessed value per homestead, with 813 approved homesteads in Berks (p. 9), which takes $330.47 off that bill (11,386 x 29.0242 / 1,000), leaving about $2,572.

The Finance Committee's own Oct. 22 minutes, linked from the agenda, give a different figure: "A 4.4% millage increase would be a $180.64 increase for every 100,000 of assessed value of the property. The average household is assessed at 129,437. This would equate to an average household increase of $233.82." A $180.64 increase per $100,000 of assessed value implies a rate of about 41 mills, which matches neither the adopted budget nor the May version; the documents do not reconcile, and neither the agenda nor the minutes explain the committee's number. The same minutes spell out what the pledge gives up: without the resolution, "a Preliminary Act 1 Budget must be passed showing an increase above the 4.4% millage tax increase," with a "deadline of 2/17/2027, vote on 2/11/2027," and "Initially it appears the District would qualify for an additional $350k to $400k" in referendum exceptions, with nothing definite until the state assigns the data years on Dec. 29. How much the board will raise taxes next year, if at all, is not settled in any posted document; the first look at the 2027-28 numbers is on the same agenda, a "2027-28 Budget Presentation - Drew Bishop" (buildings and athletics) under the Finance Committee report. How mills turn into a bill is in our property tax guide.

Also on the Upper Perkiomen agenda

• Two Hereford Elementary resignations (item 11.2.1): Jennifer Ulmer, a paraprofessional, effective Nov. 6, and Jenna Tyrrell, professional staff, "effective no later than December 31, 2026."
• A roof grant on hold. The Finance Committee's informational note says the Commonwealth Financing Authority "has postponed their November 17th scheduled meeting to December 8th," when it was expected to announce PA Public School Facility Improvement Grant awards; the district "applied for over $3.6 million dollars in grant funds for replacement of roofing sections for parts of the High School, Hereford, and the 4/5 Center." The agenda does not say how much of that would go to Hereford Elementary.
• $41,186 in 2026-27 budgetary transfers (item 12.5); the attachment is not in the text export.
• A stipulation settling a real estate assessment appeal on parcel 07-00-00361-00-1 in Green Lane Borough (item 12.7), with no dollar amount stated.
• A 24-month T-Mobile agreement, pending solicitor approval, for up to 50 discounted hotspots "at a monthly price of $12.00 per active hotspot" (item 12.8). The district plans to request five at the start; the maximum commitment "should the district determine the need for 50 hotspots would be $14,400.00."
• A requirement that the POW/MIA flag be displayed, "space permitting," on district flagstaffs that already fly the U.S. flag, effective Jan. 4, 2027 (item 12.6).
• Final approval of policies 102 (Academic Standards), 204.1 (Virtual Attendance and Wellness Checks), 235.1 (Surveys) and 249 (Bullying/Cyberbullying) (item 12.3); first readings of 901, 901 AR, 902, 904, 209 and 246, with 246 AR "recommended for deletion."
• Two student representatives, Reagan Miles (grade 12) and Matt Donahue (grade 11), for one-year terms (item 12.2), and the Limerick nuclear plant emergency plan reauthorization (12.1).

Hamburg Area: the $2.5 million set-aside is official

The Hamburg Area School Board's Oct. 26 minutes, approved Nov. 9 and posted this week (the file's server timestamp is Nov. 11), record the fund-balance moves from our preview adopted as written. Fund balance is a district's accumulated savings; "assigned" fund balance is money the board has earmarked for a stated purpose. On a motion by Birgit White, seconded by Tonia Krick, the board voted 7-0 "to approve the movement of funds as of June 30th, 2026 as presented" (pp. 2-3). The list moves $2,500,000 from unassigned to assigned fund balance "for future capital projects/HS renovation project," $2,330,065 to assigned "for the 2026-2027 General Fund budget shortfall," and $4,185,751 the other way, from assigned back to unassigned, "for the 2025-2026 General Fund budget shortfall"; two small moves of $10,113.61 and $1,274 clear committed and restricted balances. Seven directors were present, with Laura "Lolly" Lesher and Daniel Sarna absent (p. 1). The minutes say nothing more about the renovation's scope, cost or timing. Hamburg Area's own 2027-28 index is the base 3.6 percent, per the state listing; no opt-out resolution has appeared on a Hamburg agenda.

The rest of the 42-minute meeting, all 7-0:

• The 2027-28 General Fund Budget Calendar (p. 2).
• Invoices of $1,745,452.71 from the General Fund and $104,436.17 from Food Service, plus $2,069.34 from the High School Activity Fund (pp. 3-4).
• A Middle School After-School Pokémon Club "on a one-year trial basis"; Superintendent Christopher Beissel told the board that special education director Robert Marra "stepped up to form and run the club" (p. 4).
• Logan Monroe as junior high wrestling head coach (50 percent) and game help, effective Oct. 27, at an annual stipend of $1,604.50 (p. 4).

In the legislative report, director Toni McFadden flagged SB 1014, which "requires schools to implement policies restricting student cell phone use throughout the school day by the 2027-2028 school year," and HB 2786, proposed legislation on "the responsible use of AI" (pp. 1-2). The meeting adjourned at 7:12 p.m. (p. 5).

How to attend or comment

Upper Perkiomen's board meets tonight, Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. at the Education Center, 2229 East Buck Road, Pennsburg, per the agenda, which lists "Public Comments on Action Items" before the votes and general "Public Comments" after them. The next workshop is Thursday, Nov. 19, at 6 p.m., and the reorganization and regular meeting is Monday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m., both at the Education Center.

Hamburg Area's board has no further November meeting. Its school board page lists Nov. 9 as the month's only board meeting and the reorganization meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 6:30 p.m., in the James A. Gilmartin Community Room at the high school; speakers complete a public comment card, and the board's email is schoolboard@hasdhawks.org. For every Berks township, borough and school board, see our meeting schedule guide.