Upper Dublin administrators presented the school board with a proposed preliminary budget for the 2011-2012 school year. The preliminary plan includes a proposed tax hike of 5.85 percent which was broken down into four components: the Act 1 tax index is 1.4 percent; the new high school bond payment is 2.43 percent; pension exception is 1.03 percent; and special education is .99 percent. The minimum increase would be 3.83 percent, which constitutes the Act 1 index and bond payments. With the proposed range of increase, a home assessed at the average $190,000 in the district would pay between $192.60 and $294.20 more in taxes. Revenues continue to fall due to decreased property assessments and low interest earnings. The district will also lose federal stimulus funding while state funding amounts are uncertain. The district must also include in the budget $1.3 million in both expenditures and revenue for nonresident students that are educated at St. Mary’s Villa, a facility that provides services to abused and neglected children. In the past, the state paid St. Mary’s directly for nonresident students. Now, Upper Dublin must include the cost of education for these students in their budget and then collect payment from the district where the students reside, a cost neutral transaction. However, the majority of the students at St. Mary’s Villa come from Philadelphia and concerns were expressed over collecting money on a regular basis. The district will have a proposed preliminary budget available for public inspection on Jan. 25 and will vote to adopt the preliminary budget on Feb. 14.