West York Area SD reviews audit results and $3.2 million shortfall as board plans multi-year recovery

West York Area SD officials on the meeting’s agenda presented final 2024–25 financial figures and an update on the district audit, telling the board they are starting the next budget year with a material shortfall and a plan to restore reserves over multiple years.

At a presentation of slides, the district’s presenter said the audit is complete and the annual financial report has been submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for approval. The presenter said the district began the year with a beginning fund balance of $9,600,000 and is facing an ending shortfall the presenter described as about $3.2 million.

The presenter identified several principal drivers of the variance: transportation costs for homeless and special education students (reported at about $800,000), increases in cyber-charter tuition (the presenter said the combined deviation from budget for regular and special education cyber-charter tuition totaled roughly $1.7 million), savings on salary and benefits (about $2.0 million), and revenue collections that exceeded budget estimates (a little under $2.0 million). The presenter said the district expects additional information from the state on how cyber-charter tuition rates will be calculated and that final impacts could change when those figures are released.

During discussion, a board member emphasized making the district’s savings account a priority. Director Geddes noted the board had projected a $1.2 million loss, that about $845,000 more than expected appeared in state revenue projections, and that the result is a projected shortfall nearer $422,000 on the revised estimate if assumptions hold — but cautioned it is early in the fiscal year and the board should not count on uncertain figures. Geddes urged departments to plan for a revenue-neutral (zero-deficit) budget and said the district should set multi-year goals to rebuild fund balance.

The presenter said the district is carrying a number of committed funds (reported as $11,990,000 in the presentation) and indicated the district’s remaining available fund balance was shown as $6,427,468 on the slide deck. The audit presenter said more detailed review of the 2024–25 numbers would happen at an upcoming session when the auditors attend to walk the board through the report.

Board members asked for more detail at the January meeting and staff confirmed the auditors will be present on Jan. 20 to discuss the 2024–25 figures in depth. The presenter and board acknowledged that some figures in the presentation depend on yet-to-be-released state guidance for cyber-charter rates and that those details could alter final budget calculations.

What happens next: the board will review the auditors’ presentation in January, continue budget planning with an emphasis on restoring reserves, and monitor state cyber-charter rate guidance to refine final budget impacts.