Chambersburg Area SD outlines $212 million spending plan, board signals higher tax path to shore up debt and capital

The Chambersburg Area School District on April 8 presented a proposed final 2025–26 budget projecting just over $209 million in revenue against $212 million in spending and a planned deficit near 2.9 percent.

The proposed budget, presented by business manager Diana Stauffer, also includes recurring interfund transfers the district has made in recent years — including transfers into healthcare, capital reserve and future debt-service funds — and a line item to continue the board’s “plus 1” strategy that parks a portion of annual tax increases for capital and debt needs.

Stauffer told the board, “we have a total revenue of just a little over $209,000,000. This is a milestone in that we broke the $200,000,000 mark, and our total expenditures will be $212,000,000.” She identified built-in cost drivers including projected pay increases, benefit increases and additional positions, and said the budget assumes a 98 percent collection rate and an Act 1 adjusted index of 5.3 percent.

Why it matters: The district is simultaneously planning for several large building projects, and board members and staff…