District finance staff report year-end figures, propose $500,000 transfer to capital reserve and outline Act 1 index for 2026–27

District finance staff presented a year-end summary and preliminary recommendations for fund transfers and next year’s property tax index at the Cornwall-Lebanon public work session on Oct. 13, 2025.

Health-care fund and general fund year end: The finance presenter reported the district’s health-care fund shows a negative variance of about $510,000 driven by high claimant experience and rising costs year over year; staff said the district just launched an Rx and Go prescription program on Oct. 1 to seek savings. For the general fund, staff summarized the district’s $103 million budget and reported expenditures were 0.6% under budget overall; personnel costs (notably substitute wages) and third-party cyber charter expenses were items of overage while some professional services and property services remained under budget.

Recommended transfers: Staff recommended several transfers conditioned on the audit’s completion. The finance presenter said the administration proposes transferring earned interest above budget to campus projects, smoothing technology equipment purchases across years, and making a $500,000 transfer from the general fund to the Capital Reserve Fund. The presenter said the $500,000 transfer requires board approval and will be on the Oct. 20 voting agenda. Staff estimated an ending unassigned fund balance of roughly $1.81 million after transfers, noting that is below the district’s typical 8% guideline.

Act 1 index and timeline: Staff briefed the board on Pennsylvania’s Act 1 base index formula and the district’s adjusted index for 2026–27. Using the Department of Education inputs, staff said the district’s adjusted index for 2026–27 is 4.4% (down from 5% previously shown), and that the board typically adopts a resolution to not exceed the index either in November or by the January deadline. Staff recommended placing the opt-out/not-to-exceed resolution on the Nov. voting agenda for final action if the board chooses.

Next steps and timing: The presenter said the administration will wait for the audit to finalize year-end numbers, will present high-level budget numbers in November, review more knowns and unknowns in February and present a proposed final budget by May 18, 2026, with the final budget adopted in June. The $500,000 transfer to capital reserve is the only item in this package that staff said requires board approval at the Oct. 20 meeting.

Ending: Board members expressed appreciation that the administration had signaled intent to stay within the Act 1 index and requested the district return formal transfer and budget documents for the Oct. 20 vote.