Mount Lebanon board hears $1.53 million preliminary shortfall; approves resolution authorizing reductions in professional staff

The Mount Lebanon Board of School Directors on March 17 reviewed the 2025-26 base budget showing a projected preliminary revenue shortfall of $1,528,081 and voted to approve finance agenda items that include a resolution authorizing reductions in professional staff for economic reasons for the 2025-26 school year.

The board meeting, held in Room D205 of Mount Lebanon High School with a Zoom option, included a presentation of revenue and expenditure assumptions by a district finance presenter and a discussion among board members and the superintendent about options to balance the budget.

The budget presenter said the district projects total expenditures of $126,647,338 for 2025-26 and that local real-estate taxes are the largest revenue source. Local revenues account for about 77 percent of the budget overall and real-estate revenue projections were described as driven by the Act 1 index and a district adjustment. The presenter reported a projected real-estate revenue increase tied to the Act 1 base index and noted the district has applied for Act 1 exceptions for special education and retirement; a Commonwealth response was expected by March 26.

The presentation listed these key figures from the board packet: projected preliminary revenue shortfall $1,528,081; projected expenditures $126,647,338; a projected federal revenue total of $559,891 (described as about 0.004% of total…