Citizens for Dover Schools

05/30/2026

🎓🎉Congratulations Dover Area High School Class of 2026! 🎓🎉

Was it windy? Yes. Was it sunny? Also yes. Congrats to the Class of 2026!

05/30/2026

🎉 Happy last day of school! 🎉

We hope everyone has a fun, relaxing, and safe summer! ☀️

05/25/2026

Today we honor and remember the heroes who gave everything for our country. We are grateful for their courage and sacrifice.

05/19/2026

🇺🇸 Today is the Primary Election 🇺🇸

The polls are open from 7am - 8pm.

There are changes to some of the voting locations in Dover. If you previously voted at the Lighthouse Church or the Dover Community Building, you will now vote at the Dover Area Middle School.

❓Not sure where you should go? Check here: vote.pa.gov/polls

Exercise your right to vote!

05/13/2026

First up were the student reports - lots of great things happening and students to celebrate! This past weekend was the Prom, and it sounds like everyone had a great time.

Next, Dover Elementary gave a presentation about their program called Sidekicks. This is a peer mentoring program where older students work with younger students.

First public comment period: three public comments: two about the budget, one from a staff member regarding Dr Houck’s retirement.

Much of the meeting was routine business, except the big vote(s) of the night, which was for the 2026-2027 Proposed Final Budget. This took some unexpected turns. They had three options to vote on in regards to a tax increase: 0%, 2%, and 3.5%. First the Board members each spoke and said which one of these they supported. Four members said 3.5%, three said 0%, and one said 2%. They then eliminated 2% as an option. The Board was then left with two choices: 0% and 3.5%. (No matter which option, the District will need to pull money from the Fund Balance, because even at 3.5%, it would not bring enough revenue to cover the deficit.)

The Board members then spoke again, and stated their choice. All members reiterated their previous choices, except for Director Conley, who said he would choose 3.5%. Following a discussion, there was then a vote on a 3.5% tax increase. The vote went 4-4, and this motion failed. Interestingly, after saying he would support it, Director Conley voted no.

Next, the Board voted on the budget with a 0% tax increase. This vote had only 3 “yes” votes (the vote was 3-5), and so this vote failed as well.

The Board then decided to bring back the 3rd option that they had previously discarded, a 2% tax increase. The Board discussed the reasons for the Budget deficit, they stated they wanted to make sure the public understands the reasons (increases in utility costs, increases in cyber charter costs, costs of medical benefits for employees, transportation, and other unfunded state mandates). This motion was voted on and passed with a vote of 5 “yes” votes and 3 “no” votes.

➡️ What this translates into: based on the Dover median home taxable assessment of $123,910 - the annual increase will be $61 per year or about $5/month.

$4,161,966 will need to be used from the fund balance, even with this tax increase. This will then leave $7,194,714 remaining in the fund balance (projected as of 6/30/27).

This is only a summary. You can watch the meeting on the District’s YouTube channel, and all information about the budget can be found on the District’s website in the Board of Directors tab.

05/08/2026

Congratulations to these Senior student athletes who are continuing their athletic careers in college!

Next Level Signing Day Breakfast sponsored by the Dover Eagle Athletic Booster Club (DEABC)

Congratulations to our Senior student athletes who are continuing their athletic careers at the next level.

05/07/2026

Happy National School Nurse Day to the incredible nurses of the Dover Area School District. Your care keeps our Eagles healthy, supported, and ready to learn. We appreciate you! 🩺🦠🏫🤕🩷

05/05/2026

5/4/26 Update:

***** edited to add one more slide- raising taxes always sounds scary but what do those numbers actually look like??? Attached is that slide with those numbers!

Budget talks continue, and the deadline for approving the preliminary budget is looming. The next school board meeting is tomorrow, 5/5, and the budget presentation is attached to tomorrow’s agenda. There is a projected deficit of $4.8 million, and per the Board’s instructions at last month’s meeting, the Administration has prepared three different scenarios. Those are: a 0% tax increase, a 2.0 % tax increase, and a 3.5% tax increase. Also listed in the presentation is a list of possible reductions, which would help our budget.

Attached are some of the slides from the presentation. The entire report is available on the District’s website. While the projected deficit of almost $5 million is depressing, it’s not a complete shock. Dover does not have an industrial or commercial tax base, unlike other districts (Central, for example). Increased housing developments bring more children to educate, but the property taxes on houses do not come close to what commercial properties would bring. In previous meetings, we learned that some of the other reasons the deficit is so high include higher electric bills, increased special education costs, and higher cyber charter charges. None of these items can be controlled/managed by the District. They are all items that the District must pay for.

The past two years the Board has voted to not raise taxes. They have been able to use the money in the fund balance account to cover the deficit. There is still some money left in the fund balance this year. The Board could again take from this account to balance the budget this year. But is this the best long term solution? The fund balance is known as the rainy day fund. Should the Board drain this account because they are unwilling to consider a small tax increase? We’re not sure. But what we do know is that we would have appreciated more public debate on this topic prior to now.

One last comment: we often hear that Dover has the highest taxes in the area, but our millage rate is actually right in the middle. There are seven districts with higher millage rates and seven with lower. See the attached graph.

In other news, Superintendent Dr. Houck announced her retirement last week. She has been the Superintendent for the last two years, and before that was Dover’s Assistant Superintendent. The experience, knowledge, and dedication that she brought to this position will be difficult, if not impossible, to replace. We are saddened to see yet another excellent Administrator leave Dover. The frequent turnover of staff is not healthy for our district.

Thank you Dr. Houck for your work at Dover. Enjoy your retirement!

The next school board meeting is tomorrow, 5/5. The committees meet at 6pm and the planning meeting is at 7pm. All are open to the public. The planning meeting is available live on the District’s YouTube channel. The agenda can be found on the District’s website, under the Board of Directors tab.

05/04/2026

This week, we celebrate the heart of our school community—our teachers. Your dedication, creativity, and care shape our students every day. Thank you for all you do to inspire, challenge, and support our learners. ✨⭐️✨⭐️