Elizabethtown Area SD board adopts preliminary 2025-26 budget, directs 30‑day public advertisement

The Elizabethtown Area School District board on April 22 adopted a preliminary 2025–26 budget and approved a resolution to advertise the proposed tax rate for a 30‑day public comment period.

Board members voted to adopt the preliminary budget as presented, reflecting total revenues of $80,614,268 and proposed general‑fund expenditures of roughly $81,000,006 (a budget figure the administration said includes payroll and benefits assumptions carried forward pending final contract settlements). The board also approved a motion to advertise the proposed budget and tax resolution so the public can review and comment for 30 days prior to the final vote scheduled for May 27.

District Business Administrator/treasurer Clint Strickler (referred to in presentation as Mr. Strickler) told the board the figures presented are preliminary and based on current known payroll commitments and the governor’s budget assumptions; he said certain figures — notably state ‘adequacy’ funding and homestead/farmstead assessment details — could change when final state allocations arrive in June. Strickler told the board he carried current payroll and benefit commitments into the draft so members could see the implications even though no new professional‑staff contract had been ratified.

The administration’s draft shows a projected budget deficit of about $1,179,619 with a 2.5% real estate tax proposal; the presentation noted the district’s estimated fund balance at the end of the current fiscal year is about $5.7 million, pending audit. Strickler recommended advertising the preliminary budget and the accompanying tax resolution to allow the 30‑day public comment window described under district policy and state practice.

During discussion, several board members and commenters urged higher tax increases than 2.5% to avoid using reserves or cutting programs; others emphasized the district’s high share of households qualifying for free and reduced‑price meals and the impacts of tax increases on renters and lower‑income households. The board chair cautioned that the preliminary adoption and advertisement do not lock in the final tax rate or expenditures — the final budget and tax resolution will be voted on after the public comment period and may be adjusted down or up within legal limits before final adoption.

The roll call on the motion to adopt the preliminary budget recorded five votes in favor, two opposed. The subsequent motion to advertise the budget for public comment passed on a roll call vote with all members present voting yes.

Votes at a glance: the board approved the district’s preliminary 2025–26 budget and authorized a 30‑day advertisement of the proposed tax resolution; the administration will return with final figures for the May 27 meeting.

The board also approved the IU13 general operating budget and accepted the finance report as presented later in the meeting; those approvals were made by roll call after discussion of regional service costs.