'Constant Oversight' Planned Over Bensalem School Finances

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA — The Bensalem Township School District's "severe financial situation" is over for now.

Faced with a $16 million deficit, the Bensalem School Board took action by eliminating over 30 staff positions — including nine administrative roles and nearly two dozen instructional staff — and drew $1.9 million from its fund balance to help close the deficit.

The Bensalem Township School Board then adopted a 4.2 percent property tax hikefor the 2026–27 school year, ending an enduring "severe financial crisis."

"This budget process was countless hours of work from dedicated people over several months," School Director Karen Winters recently told Patch. "We have been working in a severe financial crisis that we didn't find out about until new board members were sworn in. As a board, we found ourselves responsible for navigating a crisis we did not create."

School Director Rachel Fingles said the school board trusts the current acting administration.

"We trust that the current acting administration is starting to set our district in the right direction by changing focus on how we budget moving forward, including long-term planning," she told Patch. "However, the first step in financial planning is to hire a new superintendent who has vision and creative solutions for addressing our most pressing financial challenges."

The Bensalem superintendent search committee has narrowed down the list of candidates from 27 to 11 to replace longtime Schools Superintendent Samuel Lee.

Lee — who had received a new four-year contract last year — stepped down in March after reports that the school district has a "severe financial situation."

Winters, who chairs the search committee, said that through constant oversight next school year, she remains "cautiously optimistic that, through continued transparency, extreme fiscal responsibility, and collaboration, we can begin to restore stability and put our district on a stronger path for the future."