East Stroudsburg Area SD hears early budget showing large shortfall; board urged to trim $10M at minimum

At a work session on the district’s preliminary budget, staff presented early general fund totals through Dec. 31, 2025, showing expenditures of $227,113,998.59 and estimated revenues of $192,670,882.16, an early draft staff described as conservative.

Unidentified Speaker 6, presenting the figures, said the district expects to refine the numbers but stressed the gap between projected spending and revenue. "So obviously looking at your first draft, conservative on the revenues," the speaker said, noting the figures will be adjusted as more concrete contract and cost estimates arrive.

Unidentified Speaker 4 framed several deficit scenarios on the record and recommended immediate planning for cuts. He summarized past and present deficits: a realized $10.4 million shortfall from a prior year, an approved $26 million deficit this year and a current high-range projection near $34 million. "We have to out minimum trim 10,000,000 off that budget at a minimum," Unidentified Speaker 4 said.

Staff also noted a possible conservative shortfall nearer $16 to $16.5 million depending on revenue realizations and refinancing effects. The presenters identified the district’s general fund balance at about $24,600,000 and said delaying decisions would increase risk to next year’s operating position.

To shore up reserves, Speaker 6 identified a proposal to contribute roughly $5,200,000 to the district’s insurance trust to reach a recommended four-month operating minimum, calling that a board decision that could be split between this fiscal year and the next.

Board members discussed personnel options including an announced early retirement incentive with an April 1 deadline for staff to opt in. Unidentified Speaker 4 warned that the incentive “works” only if positions are not replaced, and cautioned of the implications for class sizes and programming if vacancies are left unfilled.

The board discussed revenue options as well. Unidentified Speaker 4 urged the board to consider raising property taxes to the allowable 5% index ceiling, estimating that action would yield about $4.4 million in additional revenue if adopted. The discussion stressed a conservative approach to state revenue projections and cautioned against budgeting on speculative increases in transfers or enrollment.

Next steps outlined by staff include an intensive line‑by‑line review with departments and a budget work session prior to a preliminary budget vote. The presenters said they would bring the board an "à la carte" menu of proposed reductions and trade‑offs (for example, suspending some conferences or field trips) to guide value judgments.

The session closed with multiple board members emphasizing the need for more detailed, itemized options before formal budget adoption.