York City SD recovery advisory committee approves March minutes and accepts April financial report; local revenue mainly real estate taxes

At the May 28, 2025 meeting of the Recovery Plan Advisory Committee for the School District in the City of York, committee members approved the March 12 minutes and accepted the district's April financial report.

The committee heard the April-ending balances from Sean, who presented the finance overview. Sean said the district's local revenue is "almost $40,000,000," state revenue is "almost $114,000,000" and federal revenue is "$7,000,000." He told the group that of the local revenue, "the real estate tax... makes up about 76% of that," earned-income tax about 11%, interest about 8% and delinquent taxes about 5%.

The presentation noted that the district expects two additional state subawards (one in May and one in June) and that federal reimbursement revenue shown in the April report will "more than double" on the May report because funds that were due to the district have been received. Sean also said the district had been audited for ESSER funds as part of closing out pandemic-era grants.

Committee members moved to approve the March 12 minutes; Sean moved to approve and an unnamed committee member seconded. The motion carried with no opposition recorded. Later, a motion to accept the April financial report was made and carried; the transcript does not name the mover or provide a roll-call vote tally.

The financial discussion reviewed expenditure categories: regular instruction (teacher pay) and other instructional lines were described as "about 70%" spent for the fiscal year to date, with accruals expected in June for July and August payroll. Staff flagged that vocational education payments to York Tech School were below budget because fewer students attended than projected, and after-school and Saturday-school costs had increased recorded activity in the 1400 series. Site-improvement and building-acquisition lines include a down payment on a Market Street property; staff said the district had placed a $25,000 refundable deposit and was still waiting for any city approvals or potential legal challenges before moving forward.

Committee members asked several clarifying questions about specific line items. One member asked about the 2600 series (maintenance), which Sean said was at roughly 90% and close to expected levels given 12-month custodial and plant operator pay. Committee members requested a written breakdown of the percentages and amounts discussed; staff said those percentages would be included in the minutes and that Sean would send the detailed breakdown by the end of the week.

Discussion also noted that receiving funds that had been previously expended by the district "is basically a wash" because the district had used the money earlier; the recent receipts allow the district to close out grants and reflect the reimbursements in a zero or near-zero net on some lines, staff said.

No further actions on policy or budget adoption were taken at the meeting; the financial report acceptance was recorded as approved.