Scranton School District Boards Review State Budget Windfall; Board Certifies No Tax Increase Above Act 1 Index

Scranton — The Scranton School District’s budget committee reviewed new state budget allocations that staff estimated would increase district funding by "over $16,000,000, almost 16,100,000," and the full board unanimously certified that it will not raise school district taxes for the 2025 calendar year at a rate that exceeds the Act 1 index as calculated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Pat, a district finance staff member, told the board the state budget includes several components affecting Scranton SD: "just over $2,700,000" tied to the funding formula, an approximately $1,400,000 hold‑harmless supplement, about $1,000,000 in special education increases, approximately $9,200,000 in supplemental/adequacy funding that will flow through the Ready to Learn block grant, an estimated $900,000 in charter/cyber reimbursement, and roughly $500,000 from special‑education cyber savings. He also noted nearly $282,000 in school‑safety, mental and physical health grants.

"The numbers that were released for the Scranton School District for our funding have an estimated total increase of over $16,000,000, almost 16,100,000," Pat said during the presentation. He described the $9.2 million adequacy supplement as intended to help districts reach adequacy targets and to address tax equity, and he said staff will perform a program‑cost analysis to determine how much of current district programming can be aligned to allowable uses of the block grant.

Board members asked for additional detail. One director asked how far the district remains from the Basic Education Funding Commission’s recommendation; Pat said the state allocation falls short of the BFC year‑one recommendation of about $17,000,000. A board member asked whether there were legal routes to secure additional funding; Superintendent Keating said there was no official update at the time and that he would include a memo on the issue in an upcoming board packet.

Director Gilmartin read a formal certification motion required by the Act 1 timeline: "that the board certifies that it will not increase any school district tax for the 2025 calendar year at a rate that exceeds the index as calculated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education." A board member described the certification as "just a formality" and said the size of the allocation gives hope staff can present a budget without a tax increase.

The board then took a roll‑call vote. Votes were recorded as: Mister Casey — Yes; Missus Cheswick — Yes; Miss Fox — Yes; Missus Martin — Yes; Miss Merkel — Yes; Mister McAndrew — Yes; Missus Yani — Yes. The chair announced "7 affirmative," and the motion passed.

Next steps outlined by staff included completing an internal review and posting budget documents on the district website, conducting a detailed cost analysis of programs to align allowable block‑grant uses to current programming, and preparing the paperwork required by the Act 1 timeline. Staff said it expects to submit the required resolution and documentation by the July timeline referenced in the presentation.

The meeting concluded with routine adjournment.