Bucks Co. School Tax Increases: How Does Centennial Compare?

WARMINSTER, PA — Bucks County has 13 school districts. Which one has biggest tax increase this year?

A recent analysis by the Philadelphia Inquirer, which looked at districts in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware Counties to determine the largest tax increases, shows where residents in Bucks County will be hit the hardest.

So how does Centennial School District compare?

According to the analysis, residents in Centennial will pay an average of $86 more in 2019-20. That's a 2.3 percent increase over last year. Over the past 10 years, Centennial residents have experienced a 41 percent increase in taxes — which is the highest in that time span of any Bucks County district.

Morrisville School District, which serves the borough of Morrisville, is experiencing the largest percent tax increase this year, the analysis says. Residents there will pay 6 percent more in 2019-20, which is $240 for the average homeowner.

The next highest increase is at the Quakertown Community School District, where taxes are going up nearly 3 percent this year. In addition to Centennial, the following districts have increases that range from 2.2 to 2.3 percent: New Hope-Solebury; Bensalem Township; Neshaminy; and Council Rock.

Taxes in the Pennsbury School District will increase by $81 for the average homeowner, a 1.5 percent increase. Residents in Palisades will experience a less than 1 percent increase. The following districts have no tax increase this year: Bristol Borough; Bristol Township; Pennridge; and Central Bucks.

You may be wondering how your tax dollars are translating to student performance.

A new school district ranking was released last week by data compiler Niche, and five in Bucks County made the top 100 in the state. In that assessment, the top-ranked Bucks County school district is Central Bucks, which came 8th in the state.

Next up was New Hope-Solebury School District, which was ranked 15th in Pennsylvania. Council Rock School District in Newtown came in 27th in the state.

Pennsbury was ranked 54th and Neshaminy came in 78th. Centennial was not ranked in the top 100. (You can read more about the methodology here.)

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