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School board warns of cash strain from state budget delay; district to notify 760 people after email breach
Summary
Superintendent Mr. Bigger told the Chambersburg Area SD board the state budget impasse is squeezing cash and could force borrowing; finance staff said the district may exhaust reserves after October payrolls. The board also learned of a phishing incident that triggered notices to about 760 people.
Mr. Bigger told the Chambersburg Area SD board the ongoing state budget impasse is 'wearing on everybody' and urged board members to encourage legislators to resume budget talks, saying the delay is 'certainly impacting our overall financial dollars and adding due stress to the system' (SEG 021–036).
Tammy, a district finance staffer, said on a cash basis the district has benefited from recent real estate tax collections but that year‑over‑year reserves are down by nearly $20,000,000 and the district is losing interest income. She warned that October will include three payrolls of just over $3,000,000 each and said, "we can probably be okay through the end of the year. But much longer than that, we'll look at having to go out to borrow money" (SEG 034–063). The administration described that assessment as conservative.
During public comment, Valerie Jordan pressed the board to quantify lost interest income tied to what she described as a $74,500,000 figure and asked the administration to put a calculation of the loss on a future agenda. Jordan also read portions of the bill list and contrasted vendor payments with her $4,091.59 school tax bill (SEG 479–541).
Separately, Mr. Bigger reported a cybersecurity incident stemming from an employee clicking a phishing email that allowed a bad actor access to that email account for approximately 24 hours. He said the district will send letters to about 760 people notifying them their information "may have been stolen," reported the incident to the district attorney and state attorney's offices, and characterized the intrusion as resolved on the district's side (SEG 100–132). He reiterated there was no indication of intent by the employee and emphasized deleting old or suspicious emails as a lesson learned.
Next steps: the administration advised the board it will continue to monitor cash flow, may present further options (including borrowing) if the state budget remains unresolved, and will follow statutory reporting requirements for the cybersecurity notification. Valerie Jordan’s request for a formal calculation of interest‑income loss was explicitly asked to be placed on a future agenda; the board did not make a formal vote on that request during the meeting (SEG 479–541).
