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Scranton School Board hears PFM five‑year projection; members stress continued fight for fair funding
Summary
PFM presented a five‑year, status‑quo budget projection based on the Commonwealth's enacted 2025–26 budget; board members stressed rising special‑education costs and urged continued advocacy for the Fair Funding remedy while discussing local revenue options.
PFM presented the Scranton School District with a five‑year, status‑quo financial projection and highlighted choices the board will face if state supplements do not continue. The consulting firm modeled scenarios that assumed the Commonwealth's enacted 2025–26 budget and showed a modest negative balance by 2030 under current assumptions.
The presentation, introduced by district staff, outlined options that include using a combination of state funding, targeted budget cuts and possible tax measures to maintain fiscal balance. During the presentation, a PFM speaker described a scenario that would “reduce expenditures by 2,700,000.0,” noting that cutting specific Title‑fund expenditures was part of that projection.
Superintendent and board members emphasized the broader context. “The fight for fair funding is far from over,” the superintendent said, urging continued advocacy at the state and federal levels to secure multi‑year remedies promised by the Fair Funding case settlement. The superintendent told the board the settlement calls for several years of compounded funding and said the district is currently in year two of that remedy.
Board members also discussed local revenue and cost‑saving measures. One member suggested exploring modest revenue streams such as replacing stadium scoreboard ads, leasing or selling administrative property and partnering with local government to capture new dollars. Those suggestions were framed as supplemental to — not replacements for — state aid.
The district noted an increase in the share of students with individualized education programs (IEPs), which drives up service costs and lower allowable class sizes for some programs. That demographic trend was presented as a structural pressure on future budgets and one of the drivers behind the proposed special education task force.
The next steps include distributing a revised millage calculation in the weekend packet, reflecting certified county assessed values, and bringing consent agenda items — including a motion to approve the 2026 final general fund budget — to the board for a vote at the next meeting.
