Strath Haven High School’s long-planned renovation is hitting the brakes, and that’s just one sign of the financial strain bearing down on the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District, reports Maddie Hanna of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The district’s newly approved $106 million budget for 2026-27 leans on a mix of spending cuts, a 3.2 percent property tax hike, and roughly $550,000 drawn from reserves, a balancing act officials say reflects deeper, structural problems.
Rising costs, a shrinking tax base, and years of staffing growth that outpaced revenue have left the district in a precarious position.
The fallout has already been significant. Earlier this year, the district eliminated nearly 20 positions in a reorganization expected to save around $2 million.
The new budget goes further, leaving four vacant roles unfilled, among them a retiring high school science teacher whose position will be replaced with a part-time instructor.
Capital projects have taken a hit, too. Planned borrowing was slashed from $40 million to $10 million, forcing the district to postpone portions of its $99 million Strath Haven renovation.
Leaders are now weighing a scaled-back version of the project at around $65 million, though some smaller related work is still expected to move ahead.
The hard choices may not be over. Superintendent Russell Johnston warned that further reductions could be on the horizon, and board members aren’t sugarcoating what’s coming.
“We know we have some hard decisions to make for sure,” said board president Michelle Williams.
Get the full picture on the district’s budget challenges and what’s at stake for Strath Haven’s future by reading the complete report in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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