The Avon Grove School District (AGSD) conducted its final Committee of the Whole budget work session for the 2020-2021 school year and announced a tax increase of 2.48 percent, the lowest tax increase since the 2017-2018 fiscal year. 

The final adoption of the General Fund Budget for 2021-2022 is scheduled to occur at the school board’s legislative meeting on June 3.

The district is keeping its operational budget as flat as possible while taking on new debt for the Avon Grove High School  construction project. Excluding programs funded by new federal grants designed to address the instructional impact of the pandemic, operational expenditures increased in Avon Grove by $1.6 million, or 1.6 percent, from the 2020-2021 budget. Of this $1.6 million increase, nearly $1.4 million is related to the increase in debt service payments for the high school construction project. 

The third and final issuance of the debt is tentatively scheduled to be executed in the first half of 2022. Due to favorable borrowing rates on Avon Grove School District’s first two bond offerings, the tax millage required to support the project has been less than anticipated.

Avon Grove School District is planning a full return to in-person instruction for the 2021-2022 school year and will be focused on accelerating the academic growth of its students by utilizing a system of supports for students. 

School faculty will be bolstered with additional instructional specialists, behavioral specialists, an additional school psychologist and school counselor; and many other resources intentionally designed to foster student achievement. To finance these additional supports, Avon Grove is relying on the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds provided by the federal government. 

Video recordings of past COW meetings are available on the Board of Directors page of the Avon Grove School District website under AGSD Previous Events. Photos of the new Avon Grove High School can be found on the facilities page.