Easton officials preview FY27 budget, cite $298M capital plan and $20M fund-balance goal
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Summary
The district presented an initial FY27 budget outline emphasizing capital projects, personnel costs and fiscal stability; administrators said salaries and benefits make up roughly 65% of expenditures and proposed a $20 million fund-balance target informed by PDE guidance.
The Easton Area School District presented an initial FY27 budget overview on Dec. 2 that emphasized capital spending, rising personnel costs and the need to rebuild reserves.
Business officer Mr. Trent said one of the district’s largest budget drivers is a planned capital projects spending plan he described at $298,000,000; he said the district must rebuild its capital reserve and fund balance to support that work. Trent outlined three near-term priorities for the budget cycle: fund-balance restoration, managing operational costs (in particular salaries and benefits) and maintaining programs that support student achievement.
Trent showed a preliminary worst-case estimate with a roughly $7,000,000 starting gap, and estimated salaries and benefits consume about 65% of the budget. He described cost-saving strategies under consideration — preventive facilities maintenance, optimized transportation routes, procurement improvements and multiyear fiscal planning — and said the business office plans to present a 3–5 year stability plan to the board in coming months.
Administrators also told the board that completion of the 2023–24 audit remains pending because of business‑office cleanup. They said the audit is expected in the coming weeks and that audited numbers are necessary to finalize the 2024–25 position and the multiyear plan. The administration characterized a sound fund-balance target as roughly $20,000,000, following PDE guidance recommending 8–10% of the budget in reserves.
Trent laid out the budget calendar: school-level budget reviews in December/January, executive team finalization in February–March, a pre-proposed update in March, proposed final in April and a final budget vote in May. Board members asked for one-on-one meetings and additional detail; administrators said they will provide school-level breakdowns and the pending audit when available.
The presentation was informational; no budget adoption vote occurred at this meeting. Administrators said they will return with further proposals and the audit work to inform final decisions.