Bristol Township School District says $4 million adequacy increase covered operating costs; officials warn cuts would hit staffing and programs

Bristol Township School District officials told a Children First event on Oct. 27 that a roughly $4 million increase in state adequacy funding last year equated to about 2% of the district’s overall budget and was used to preserve current staffing and mandated services.

Dr. Chris Polzer, assistant superintendent for Bristol Township School District, said the district used the state funds primarily to “keep the lights on,” covering rising employment and benefits costs that hit school budgets after the pandemic. Polzer said personnel account for about 70% of the district’s budget and that special-education costs — which the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) intended to be funded at 40% by the federal government — remain far below that target (Polzer said actual federal funding for IDEA is about 12%).

Why it matters: Polzer and state Rep. Jibre Prokopiak warned that absent continued state adequacy funding, districts like Bristol Township would face tough choices: further local tax increases in lower-income communities or staff and program cuts that would affect special education, extracurricular programs and other services.

Details from the district

- Amount and share: Polzer said last year’s adequacy funds increased Bristol Township’s state revenue by approximately $4,000,000, equal to roughly 2% of its total budget.

- Cost pressures: Polzer cited increased labor and health-benefit costs after the pandemic, rising fuel costs for a bus fleet now running on liquid propane, and higher costs for special-education services. He said the district’s student population has a higher-than-average rate of autism diagnoses and that early-intervention services, currently funded locally as students transition into school-age programs, add to costs.

- Consequences of funding shortfalls: Polzer said staffing would be the first target of cuts if funding declines because employees account for the bulk of spending. He noted that programs often labeled “extras” in wealthier districts (for example, a widely noted drama program in Bristol Township) could be at risk if the district needs to reduce personnel or programming.

State and federal context

Rep. Jibre Prokopiak, who represents the 140th District and previously served on a local school board, described the recent state-level actions to increase education funding after a Commonwealth Court ruling found the state was not meeting its constitutional duty to fund public education. He said the 2024 state budget included a substantial downpayment — and that future increases will require continued legislative support.

Polzer and Prokopiak both warned that federal budget proposals and potential cuts at the national level could affect state and local discretionary funding, but the district emphasized that the immediate impact of a funding gap would be local staff and service reductions.

Attribution and limits

Statements in this article are drawn from remarks by Dr. Chris Polzer and Representative Jibre Prokopiak during the Children First event. The district’s financial figures (for example the $4 million figure and the 2% share) were stated on the record by Dr. Polzer during the session.