Chester-Upland SD treasurer outlines fiscal priorities and cautions on state budget timing
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Summary
At the Feb. 19 board meeting Treasurer Dr. Morales said she will identify three unfunded mandates, verify cyber-charter savings tied to PDE-363, and press advocacy in Harrisburg after the governor's Feb. 3 budget proposal raised questions about a seven-year adequacy phase-in and local impacts.
Treasurer Dr. Morales told the Chester-Upland School District board on Feb. 19 that her role is "support and advocacy," not fiscal oversight, and outlined immediate priorities for district finances.
"My job is support and advocacy and, ensuring that the business office has the resources they need when we have budgets that are passed," Dr. Morales said, adding that the receiver and administrative team retain fiscal stewardship. She said she met with business-office staff to set goals and accountability measures.
Dr. Morales said she will identify three unfunded mandates that she believes are imposing undue burdens on the district; as an example she cited a requirement to transport students within a 10-block radius regardless of which school they attend. She said the analysis will be used to inform potential legislative changes.
On cyber-charter costs, Dr. Morales said the district recorded roughly $1.6 million in the 2025 budget as a line-item reimbursement and that a reform to the tuition-billing form (referred to in the meeting as PDE-363) aims to change how those savings are calculated. "We have to make sure that that's what we're getting," she said, urging staff to verify whether the form change produces the anticipated savings rather than relying on headline statewide estimates.
Dr. Morales also described the governor's Feb. 3 proposed budget and called the start of "advocacy season." She cited an item in the proposal described in the meeting as a $565,000,000 increase in basic education funding but warned that the plan relies on a seven-year phase-in to close adequacy gaps, which could leave districts exposed if annual increases are not sustained.
She urged caution about statewide aggregates, noting figures discussed in the meeting such as a $75 million estimate tied to cyber-charter adjustments and $125 million for school facilities are statewide totals that may not translate to large local gains.
Dr. Morales said she will be communicating with state lawmakers and will send messaging to the board and community as the advocacy work continues. No formal board action on these items was taken at the Feb. 19 meeting.
Next steps: Dr. Morales said she will report back to the board with the three identified unfunded mandates and with verification of the PDE-363 billing changes and their local fiscal effect.