Upper Adams School District received an unusually high increase in grant funds from the state, which officials say will help the district support important needs.
Typically, Upper Adams receives about $263,000 from the state Ready to Learn Grant, according to Assistant Superintendent Joseph Albin. Historically, Upper Adams used this funding to offset kindergarten salaries and benefits to reduce class size.
Last year’s grant came in at about $800,000, Albin said. This year’s equates to more than $1.95 million.
“This is actually a great thing,” Albin told the school board at Tuesday’s curriculum and extra-curricular committee meeting.
Upper Adams administrators are recommending the board spread this money across several areas of need. The funds must be used for the 2025-2026 school year.
“This is $2 million of expenses that we would already have to pay” by drawing on funds elsewhere in the budget, Albin said, if not for the grant.
Of that nearly $2 million in grant funding, Albin proposed the district put about $794,300 toward academic license renewals that are coming due.
About $616,500 is proposed to go toward an expected increase in tuition payments to charter and cyber charter schools. Public schools are required by law to pay this tuition.
At Upper Adams, kindergarten class size reduction would remain a priority, with about $263,700 of grant funds proposed to support staff salaries and benefits.
Nearly $36,000 is proposed to expand the IXL academic software program to kindergarten through second grade. Albin said students in third through eighth grade currently use the software to assist with remediation and enrichment in several subjects.
The remaining grant money is proposed to be distributed as follows:
- $218,000 for a shop dust collector
- About $17,100 for the Biglerville Elementary Summer Program
- $7,000 for curriculum supplies
- $3,500 for professional development in artificial intelligence
- $3,500 for professional development in risk assessment
Albin said the administration considered many factors when deciding how to best recommend using the grant funds.
“We really looked ahead, looked at what expenses were coming up,” he said. “We looked at district needs, we looked at professional development, we looked at supplies.”
Board to consider budget requests
At a future voting meeting, the school board will also consider priorities for next year’s budget.
Director of Business Operations Shelley Hobbs presented funding requests totaling $71,500 gross, or $61,500 net.
Requests include a $9,000 large format printer for the high school. Hobbs said such a printer would allow students to work with equipment like what is used in professional fields such as graphic design, marketing, engineering, architecture and media production.
The high school would also like a yearly $1,500 choreographer stipend to support the spring musical.
In terms of technology, an estimated $20,000 is requested to renew the district’s firewall/software. Hobbs said the district would be reimbursed about 50% of the cost. In addition, another $6,000 is requested for annual email phishing training.
To prepare for two staff retirements, Hobbs proposed spending $25,000 to hire an individual part-time to overlap in employment and train with the outgoing staff before their Dec. 31 retirements.
Board member Matthew Lustig asked if the district typically hires staff to overlap in the case of retirements.
Hobbs said the two outgoing staff work in “key” cabinet positions in human resources and payroll. They have more than 20 years of experience in these roles and “hold a lot of institutional knowledge,” Hobbs said.
Canner Foundation seeks support
The Canner Foundation, a newly minted 501(c)(3) nonprofit formerly known as the Canner Funds, asked the board for $10,000 annually for the next three years to support a part-time executive director.
Tom Wilson, a former school board member and president of the Canner Foundation, said such support is critical to the nonprofit’s future success.
Through community donations, the Canner Foundation has funded field trips, classroom enhancements, the fifth-grade environmental camp, artists in residence, student transportation, and more.
Wilson said the Canner Foundation receives more requests than it can currently support. For the 2025-2026 school year, Wilson said they received 38 classroom grant applications totaling more than $35,000. They fully funded 21 and partially funded eight.
The Foundation’s board is made up of dedicated volunteers with limited time, according to Wilson. He believes hiring a part-time executive director could solve the issue of time.
“This person would dedicate the necessary time to improve and advance Canner Foundation’s efforts to support the teachers and students here in the district. This person would broaden our donor base beyond just the annual greetings free. This person would work closely with the development officer,” Wilson said.
The Canner Foundation is prepared to put $2,000 of its own money toward an annual salary and plans to seek grants to augment that figure. The district’s contribution of $10,000 for three years would “prime the pump,” Wilson said.
“If we can get this thing started, with your help, we’ll find the resources to keep it going in the future,” he said.
The school board is next scheduled to meet Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.
