Cheltenham finance committee reviews $139 million preliminary 2025–26 budget; $1.9 million planned draw from fund balance

Cheltenham School District finance staff presented a preliminary 2025–26 budget of $139 million at the finance committee meeting on Feb. 4, and staff said the draft would use $1.9 million from fund balance to close the projected gap. The presentation, led by district finance staff (Mr. Swaggart), said the draft includes no proposed real estate tax increase.

The preliminary budget matters because salary and benefit obligations — including two years of contractual increases that were not fully budgeted last year — and the district's high pension contribution rate drove most of the projected spending increases. In the presentation, staff said the district's retirement contribution (PCERS) remains at 34% of wages and that salaries and benefits account for roughly 68% of total expenditures.

Finance staff opened with interim fiscal results through Jan. 31. The district shows total assets of $98.7 million and a cash balance of $90.0 million, up from $87.0 million a year earlier. "We…