Shippensburg Area SD weighs 4%–5.3% tax scenarios as fund balance and rising costs pressure budget

Shippensburg Area School District finance staff presented three property-tax scenarios — 4%, 4.5% and the Act 1 index of 5.3% — and outlined how each would affect the district’s budget and taxpayers, while noting a final budget decision is scheduled for June 9.

The presentation showed the district’s general fund balance has grown from about $3 million in February 2006 to roughly $17.2 million in 2024. Of that, staff said roughly $2.3 million is unassigned (no current expenditure tied to it), while the remaining balance is largely assigned for future projects and debt. District staff urged the board to weigh using fund balance versus raising taxes to cover an anticipated structural shortfall.

Caleb Barwin, who led the presentation, told the committee the three tax options would generate approximately $1.41 million (4%), $1.59 million (4.5%) and $1.85 million (5.3%) in additional revenue. He also detailed the major out‑of‑the‑ordinary expense drivers for 2025–26: about $910,000 for new personnel items approved in the proposed budget; an 11% medical‑insurance renewal that staff estimated would add about $842,000; and an increase in district expense for cyber‑charter enrollment,…