The Coatesville Area School District's superintendent, Dr. Rybarczyk, told the school board on Nov. 25 that the state budget approved this year will increase the district's funding by roughly $6.3 million and that the district is taking steps to reduce charter tuition outflows.

"We were obviously excited to have a state budget that was approved," Dr. Rybarczyk said, adding that the increase reflects both direct increases to basic-education aid and expected savings tied to reforms in cyber-charter funding. She said the district has long paid a substantial portion of its budget toward charter-school tuition — "$74,000,000 of our entire budget goes to the charter schools," she said — and described a letter campaign aimed at encouraging charter families to return to district schools.

"With that campaign in just over the last three months ... we have welcomed back a total of 64 students," Dr. Rybarczyk said. "Which is saving the district ... almost $500,000." She presented that figure as the preliminary savings from students returning to district enrollment.

The superintendent also updated the board on construction and scheduling tied to the district's facilities plan. Work at Doe Run Elementary is progressing, she said, with much of the building under roof and an objective to have the structure enclosed by December so interior work can proceed toward an anticipated August opening.

Dr. Rybarczyk briefed the board on an upcoming reorganization meeting scheduled for Dec. 9 and said the district will publish a PowerPoint describing minor redistricting adjustments made to balance enrollment, race and socioeconomic factors across four elementary schools. She described the redistricting as "not major, just some little bit of revisions" and said teacher reassignments and parent notifications will follow board action at the Dec. 9 meeting.

Board members and staff framed the state funding increase as helpful in avoiding deeper draws on reserves and in limiting potential tax increases. A finance committee member noted that although the state increase helps, some special-education allocations fell short of expectations.

The board took no additional formal action on the budget during the Nov. 25 meeting; financial statements and routine bills payable on the consent agenda were approved by roll call earlier in the meeting.