Elizabethtown Area SD budget presentation shows $1.6M shortfall; board weighs tax increase or cuts

Elizabethtown Area School District administrators presented a revised 2025-26 budget on March 26 that projects a $1,609,679 shortfall under current payroll levels and options that would require tax increases between roughly 3.5% and 4.75% unless the board approves additional cuts or uses fund balance.

The district's finance director, Mr. Strickler, told the board the administration's current draft reduces a previously proposed $84 million budget to about $81,391,934 in revised requests. “I will not guess,” Strickler said when asked about payroll increases tied to ongoing contract talks; the draft keeps payroll at 2024-25 levels until negotiations conclude. He said the district would need about a 3.46% tax increase to balance the budget without changes, and that the current revenue proposal equates to about a 4.75% increase to reach the board’s target number.

The proposed budget leaves some lines flatlined and flags three areas—business office, special education and buildings and grounds—as highlighted because the administration believes those are the only places it can limit increases without directly affecting students. Strickler said the business office and buildings-and-grounds budgets were “flatlined” to get closer to a balanced plan and noted some unavoidable increases such as the district’s share of the Lancaster County Career & Technology Center debt service and a projected IU special-education cost increase.

Why it matters: Board members and community commenters framed the discussion as a choice between raising taxes or making programmatic cuts. The board must approve a preliminary balanced budget in coming weeks; members asked for more time to review the materials and directed staff to produce follow-up analyses.

Board discussion and next steps

During the presentation, Finance Committee representative Linda Booth and Mr. Strickler walked the board through the line-item changes and emphasized that the draft assumes no payroll increases until contract outcomes are final. Strickler said the administration is attempting to reduce professional-services spending by $10,000–$20,000 and is asking the board for direction on whether to use more fund-balance to smooth tax impact—the district used fund balance last year to lower the tax increase and would need roughly $870,000 in fund balance again under the current scenario.

Board members asked for more detail on several lines, including legal services (where the district has trended overbudget) and on choices flagged for potential cuts. Strickler said the three highlighted departments were the least likely to affect students if reduced. Several board members emphasized the short timeline: staff asked members to submit questions over the weekend so staff could prepare updated materials for the next meeting.

Budget specifics mentioned in the meeting

- Current year final budget (2024-25): $80,010,948 (presented by Strickler). - Administration’s initial submission: about $84,000,000; revised: $81,391,934. - Projected deficit (with status-quo payroll): $1,609,679. - Estimated tax increase to balance without payroll changes: roughly 3.46% (staff) and revenue scenarios discussed up to 4.75%. - Staff noted roughly $870,000 could be used from fund balance to reduce the immediate burden; doing so reduces reserves and would require future adjustments.

Quotes from the meeting

“I will not guess,” Mr. Strickler said when asked whether payroll lines should be increased before contract agreements are finalized. “When you agree and the teachers agree to a contract, I can put the numbers in. But at this point, I can't.”

Supervisor and board responses

Board members asked for deeper line-item detail and peer comparisons and asked staff to return with refined reports. Several members urged that the board decide what services to protect versus which cuts they were willing to consider.

Ending: The board voted to accept the finance report as presented at the meeting, and members set a short deadline for requests and questions so staff can return with updated options before the preliminary budget approval date. The budget remains a work in progress pending contract negotiations and follow-up materials from administration.