An approved development in Penn Township could help bolster revenue in Knoch School District, which is facing declining enrollment and a budget deficit for the 2024-25 fiscal school year.

Business manager Jamie Van Lenten told school board members at a meeting Wednesday, May 1, that as part of the development, four homes are being built by Penn Partners Development off Penn Drive this fall with an anticipated completion of spring 2025.

The estimated revenue for 2025-26 is projected to be $69,597, which would grow in later years as work on the development grows.

According to Van Lenten’s presentation, the planned Shadow Ridge Traditional Residential Development spans 33.48 acres and includes 24 single-family lots, as well as the possibility of a strip center shopping area on 8 acres facing Route 8.

“It’s very exciting,” Van Lenten said. “This doesn’t happen very often in our district.”

Still, amid rising health care costs of 13.68%, the planned development in Penn Township “doesn’t save the day,” Van Lenten said. She presented findings from the preliminary budget indicating the district faces a deficit of just under $600,000.

Along with Foley, Van Lenten recommended the school board raise taxes by 2 mills to help shrink the budget deficit that stands just under $600,000. The millage would increase from 94.275 to 96.275, adding $362,000 in revenue.

In previous meetings, Van Lenten shared that low enrollment and lack of growth in the district were challenges in gaining revenue.

Commenting on the district’s decline in enrollment, superintendent David Foley shared the high school’s senior class includes 205 students. The class sizes drop by grade level: the first grade class, Knoch said, numbers 129 students.