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William Penn SD schedules vote to post proposed 2025-26 budget after warnings of staff cuts
Summary
The William Penn School District’s budget and finance committee chair said the board will vote next week to post the proposed 2025-26 budget for the required 30-day public review and warned the draft includes staffing reductions and “a myriad of unpleasant cuts.”
Jennifer Hall, chair of the William Penn School District budget and finance committee, told the board on May 19 that the district will present a proposed 2025–26 final budget for public posting next week and that the vote will be to post the document for the legally required public-review period.
“I hope you will all attend Dr. B. Coats’ one-on-one on the budget to see where we are,” Hall said. “The vote on Tuesday will be to post the budget. The numbers are not final. They are not binding. They are to give the public a view of what we see.”
Hall cautioned board members and the public that the draft is grim: “It is not pretty. I will not sugarcoat it in any way, shape, or form. There is reductions in staffings, and there are a myriad of unpleasant cuts that need to will need to be made if we cannot figure this out.” She asked board directors to meet individually with Dr. B. Coats before the public presentation and said the board will discuss the draft at a public meeting the following Thursday on Zoom.
Why it matters: Posting the proposed budget starts a 30-day period during which residents can review the district’s revenue and spending plans; that posting is required by state law, Hall said. Board members repeatedly framed next week’s action as procedural — a vote to post a nonfinal document — not final approval of the budget’s numbers.
Board members did not take a formal vote during the May 19 meeting. Hall said the scheduled vote next week will be to post the proposed final budget so the public may review it for 30 days; any adoption of final numbers will occur through later board action.
Background: Hall said the district does not expect to adopt a final, on-time budget this week and that the posted figures will give the public a preliminary view of proposed cuts and the district’s options. She asked directors to attend the Thursday public presentation and to hold one-on-one briefings with Dr. B. Coats before that meeting to review details.
The board did not provide a complete line-item budget during the May 19 meeting, and Hall said details such as specific staffing reductions would be discussed in upcoming briefings and the public presentation.
Next steps: The board will hold the scheduled vote next week to post the proposed 2025–26 budget for the 30-day public inspection period; a public Zoom meeting will follow to explain the draft. Final adoption will be decided in later proceedings.
