Centennial SD presents $4.7 million preliminary deficit; officials outline options including in‑district services and Act 1 exception

Centennial School District administrators told the Board of School Directors on Dec. 9 that the district is facing a roughly $4.7 million shortfall after FY2025 revenues of $151,676,000 versus expenses of $156,447,000.

Mr. Greenwood, who led the board through a slide presentation, said the state’s Act 1 index increase is 3.5% for the coming year and that, if taken at full value, that increase would provide “just over $3,400,000” to Centennial. He identified three contract-driven personnel cost increases that together total about $3.0 million: the Centennial Education Association collective bargaining agreement (about $2.3 million), an Act 93 agreement (about $164,000) and a potential support‑staff settlement (roughly $557,000). He noted that the figures presented exclude healthcare and other benefits and are shown net of PSERS (pension) reimbursements.

The presentation showed that roughly 72% of district spending goes to instruction and student services, about 14% to operations, 6% to administration and 7% to debt service. Mr. Greenwood said salaries and benefits combined account for roughly 70% of expenses. He also noted debt‑service costs have fallen after recent refinancings, producing multi‑million-dollar savings over time.

Board members pressed administrators about enrollment and revenue assumptions. Mr. Greenwood said the district’s assessed valuation has hovered around $565 million–$566 million and that Bucks County’s November estimate will be updated again in January. He also summarized an Independent Fiscal Office projection cited in district slides that forecasts the Act 1 index will continue to decline modestly over the next several years.

Several members and staff highlighted district enrollment changes that increase cost pressure: economically disadvantaged students have risen about 10 percentage points over five years to roughly half of enrollment, and special‑education and English‑learner populations have grown as well. The slides showed Centennial’s special‑education spending comprised 18.73% of expenses in 23–24 and was projected to rise to more than 21% in upcoming budgets.

Administrators and board members discussed specific options to reduce the gap. Proposed approaches included increasing in‑district capacity to reduce expensive out‑of‑district placements (Mr. Greenwood said such placements exceed $9 million annually), transfer‑of‑entity strategies for programs previously run by intermediate units, targeted retirement incentives, staffing and scheduling efficiencies, and pursuing a Pennsylvania Department of Education Act 1 exception for special‑education costs where appropriate. Mr. Greenwood emphasized that any changes affecting students would be made “only in consultation with our families” and through IEP teams when special‑education placements are at issue.

Next steps: administrators said they will continue budgeting work, provide follow‑up information to the board and return with more detailed proposals as the board moves into formal budget deliberations in the new year.