Upper Adams School District is operating without $4.3 million in expected funds while the state budget impasse continues more than 100 days past deadline.
School code requires school districts to approve their budgets by June 30 of each year — the same date by which the state budget should have been approved.
Pennsylvania is the only state without an approved state budget.
“The district should have received subsidies from the state totaling $4.3 million,” Director of Business Operations Shelley Hobbs said at Tuesday’s business and operations committee meeting. “That’s a lot of money.”
Those missing funds represent about 25% of Upper Adams School District’s state revenue, according to Hobbs. The district’s budget is made up of about 49% local revenue, 50% state revenue and 1% federal revenue, Hobbs said.
Without these crucial funds, some vendors are going unpaid. In addition, the district has lost about $50,000 in “interest free money to the taxpayer,” Hobbs said. The Pre-K Counts program start date was delayed until after Labor Day, affecting about 17 students.
Without the state funding, Hobbs said Upper Adams is relying on local taxpayer revenue and reserve money to pay the bills.
Other school districts are beginning to pursue loans, furloughing teachers or cutting extracurriculars, according to Hobbs. If a loan is needed at Upper Adams, she estimates the impact to taxpayers would be about $200,000 in fees and interest.
If the impasse continues, Hobbs said the district may start to transfer funds from its investment account as soon as November.
“So we’re in pretty good shape compared to other districts,” board President Neil Weigle said.
“It’s not dire yet,” board Treasurer Gerald Walmer said. “It could become dire.”
In nine out of the last 13 years, the Pennsylvania state budget was not passed by the June 30 deadline, Hobbs noted.
Hobbs encouraged the school board to contact State Rep. Torren Ecker’s office at 717-259-7805 to advocate for an end to the budget impasse.
In other business, the business and operations committee directed collections agency JP Harris to pursue the top 15 individuals who owe the greatest amount of student lunch debt. As of Sept. 30, the total lunch debt stood at about $39,000, compared to nearly $45,000 on June 9.
The next Upper Adams School Board meeting is set for Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.
Mary Grace Kauffman, freelance reporter, worked six years as a full-time reporter for newspapers in Pennsylvania and Maryland. She has covered topics including business, crime, education, government and features. Mary Grace has a bachelor's degree in communication/journalism from Shippensburg University. She resides in Adams County.
Are you kidding me? We are sending school lunch debt to collections? What kind of world are we living in? School lunches should be free.