Harrisburg City SD board approves $3.2M amendment after state funding update

The Harrisburg City School District Board of School Directors voted unanimously Dec. 2 to approve a 2025–26 amended budget that increases the district’s budget roughly $3.2 million to reflect updated state and federal allocations.

Doctor Marsha Stowe, who presented the amendment, told the board the changes stem from the state’s delayed budget process and from newly available information about several revenue streams. "We are receiving additional funds from the Commonwealth," Stowe said, and she identified a $7,400,000 adequacy supplement as the largest single increase in the district’s revenue picture.

Why it matters: The amendment adjusts the district’s official PDE-2028 budget form and shifts multiple revenue and expenditure lines. Stowe told trustees the district is decreasing interest-earnings projections by more than $400,000 because state subsidy payments arrived months late; special-education subsidy receipts are about $150,000 below earlier estimates; and Title I allocations tied to CSI-designated schools fell by about $208,000. In the aggregate, those and other changes produce a net increase of about $3,200,000 compared with the June adopted budget.

Details: Stowe said the board will add the $7.4 million adequacy supplement into the district’s foundation ("ready to learn") funding so it will carry forward into future years. She told trustees she expects the governor’s next budget could continue adequacy funding, which would mean an additional similar amount in 2026–27 if sustained. Stowe also reported an estimated $4.2 million decrease in cyber-charter tuition costs compared with June’s projection; she described that figure as an estimate pending final PDE guidance and the release of the updated PDE 363 form that calculates charter tuition.

The presentation covered other items the administration has earmarked for the additional funding: repairs at Scott School after a water-main break and electrical work; security upgrades including door releases and card readers; added restrooms at John Harris; an extra bus run at Camp Curtin; dual-enrollment cap passes; professional development (including restorative-practices training); and seed funding to launch new CTE programs at John Harris (business and industry, then cybersecurity/IT). Stowe also noted the district is preparing competitive applications for the Public School Facilities program and for PCCD safety and mental-health grants, but final allocations for those programs were not yet known.

Board reaction and next steps: Trustees pressed for clarifications about two PA Boost grants; Stowe explained one larger summer-school allocation had been incorporated into the June budget and an additional $75,000 award will cover training and implementation of the Rally app. After discussion, the board approved the amended budget by roll-call vote, 9–0. Stowe said the district will continue work on 2026–27 budget development and is awaiting PDE’s final guidance to firm up charter-tuition calculations.

The board’s formal adoption updates the district’s official budget filing and gives administrators authority to adjust the district’s spending plan consistent with the newly recognized revenues. The district did not specify any immediate programmatic cuts tied to the amendment; planned allocations described during the presentation are subject to further administrative decision and grant award outcomes.