BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA — Bensalem school officials will be back at it on Tuesday night, holding a discussion with the public about the school district’s “severe budget situation.”
The Public Relations & Community Outreach Committee will hold a Community Q&A session on Tuesday night to explain the 2026 school budget, how the district got to its budget crunch, and where things go from here. See flyer below
After reports that the school district has a “severe financial situation,” school directors explained what that crisis is and what impact it might have on the next school budget.
The school board held a meeting last month on whether to adopt the preliminary budget for the 2026-2027 school year.
Schools Superintendent Samuel Lee recently sent an email to the Bensalem school community stating that the district is facing “a significant budget shortfall” driven largely by rising special education costs and charter school funding obligations, expenses that are mandated and largely outside of our local control.
Lee said that if any reductions become necessary, anyone impacted would hear directly from the school district.
School Board Vice President Stephanie Gonzalez Ferrandez told Patch that the school district is not looking at a $15 million deficit as initially mentioned.
She offered several scenarios with the school budget:
She said the district’s business director is projecting a roughly $6 million deficit if the school board raises taxes 8.2 percent and cuts no spending.If taxes are raised by 4.2 percent and no spending is cut, the school district would have a deficit of over $11 million.
(Bensalem Township School District)