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HASB At Odds For 2023-24 Budget

The Hollidaysburg Area School District Board of Directors passed the proposed budget for the 2023-24 school year with no tax increase or increase in millage. The budget passed by a 6-2 vote, with board members Nicole Hartman, Lonna Frye, Doug Stephens, Ronald Sommer, Scott Brenneman and Manny Nichols all voting in favor of adopting the budget while members Jennifer Costanza and Carmen Bilek voted against it. Board member Ken Snyder was absent. The budget will carry over a $3 million dollar deficit with local, state, federal revenues along with fund transfers coming to $53,206,818. Expenditures totaled $56,319,864 leaving the school district with a $3,113,046 deficit in the budget.

Costanza was strongly opposed to the budget approval saying the proposed budget was not even close to being balanced. The district had $8,307,616 as an estimated fund balance, but following the current budget the ending total fund balance as of June 30, 2024, will stand at $5,194,570 with an ending unassigned fund balance of only $1,371,512. Costanza pointed out that the board voted on the proposed budget early in the meeting and prior to any discussion session.

Hollidaysburg School District Business Manager Autumn Fiscus pointed out there will no ESSER funds in the 2023-24 proposed budget as those funds have dried up. The funds were available to districts during the pandemic in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years and helped the district with funding that came close to balancing the budget.

Expenditures have exceeded revenues during the past two years at the district. Fiscus said the district is controlling and maintaining expenses they have control over. Fiscus said in the last figures available in 2021, Hollidaysburg had $6,600 in allotted spending per student while the average spending per student in IU8 was $10,300. This put the district 32nd out of 34 schools in revenue per student in IU8. Salaries and benefits accounted for 70 percent of the spending, with salaries at $23,225,540 and benefits at $16,574,732.

Hollidaysburg is to receive approximately $4 million from the state for education next year, but that could change until the state passes its final budget.

Fiscus stated if the proposed budget has no changes, the unassigned fund balance for the district will be 2.44 percent, while 8 percent is recommended for school districts. Retirements have helped keep costs down, but it has been costly that students are staying in cyber/charter schools and not returning to the Hollidaysburg brick and mortar schools.

The options to address the deficit since ESSER funds are done next year are to adjust capital projects/building projects and improvements, make budget cuts in programs, positions, and equipment or increase taxes to the maximum Act 1 index, which is 5 percent. This increase still would not be enough to balance the budget. Board member Ronald Sommer said Hollidaysburg Area School District is definitely underfunded by the state.

The proposed budget will have to be available for viewing and inspection by the public for 30 days before any vote can be taken by the board on finalizing the budget. The board will have several meetings to discuss any possible changes in the budget.

 

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