Carlisle staff outline proposed state budget, estimate roughly $2.8M in added revenue under governor’s plan

School business staff summarized elements of Governor Josh Shapiro’s proposed state budget and the preliminary impact the proposal would have on Carlisle Area School District’s fiscal year 2026 revenue if the legislature adopts the governor’s recommendations.

The district presentation listed the governor’s proposed line‑item increases statewide: $75 million for the Basic Education Formula (BEF), about $40 million for special education, and $526 million in new adequacy investments tied to the “ready‑to‑learn” funding stream. The presenter also noted some items from the prior fiscal proposal for context, and that PlanCon reimbursement for school construction is not included in the governor’s current proposal.

Using the administration’s modeling, staff estimated Carlisle would receive roughly $281,000 more from BEF, about $200,000 more for special education and about $1.7 million in adequacy/ready‑to‑learn funding — producing an aggregate estimate of about $2,777,686 in additional state revenue under the governor’s proposal relative to the district’s current projections. The presenter emphasized that these figures reflect the governor’s proposal and that legislative action could change the amounts; the district does not yet count the proposed dollars as guaranteed revenue.

Staff also reviewed the governor’s treatment of cyber charter funding. Under the proposal discussed at the meeting, regular‑education funding for cyber charter students would be a flat $8,000 per student. The district’s current actual per‑pupil cost for regular education cyber enrollments this year was described in the presentation as roughly $14,100; using an $8,000 flat rate would, in the administration’s estimate, reduce Carlisle’s cyber charter expense and yield savings estimated at about $879,000 in the model. Presenters cautioned the legislature has in past years rejected similar proposals, so the savings should not be considered certain until the budget process is final.

Presenters also noted other items: proposed funding for school facility improvement grants, a $25 million program for solar projects, continued funding lines for special programs and that no PlanCon reimbursement is currently proposed. They reviewed federal program funding expected in the district’s FY2026 budget (Title programs, Perkins, impact aid) and cautioned the board to monitor federal appropriations and any administrative changes at the U.S. Department of Education.

Board members asked clarifying questions about how much of the governor’s proposal the district should conservatively count on in the budget and whether the federal funding assumptions are secure given recent federal staffing changes. The administration said it typically models conservatively and will refine revenue estimates during the coming budget meetings in April.