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Conestoga Valley SD reports $13 million year-end general fund balance; flags rising special-education costs
Summary
District staff gave a preliminary 2024–25 finance update showing an ending general-fund balance near $13 million, revenue overage of roughly $800,000 and growing special-education and cyber-tuition costs that officials say will strain future budgets.
Adele, a district finance staff member, told the Conestoga Valley School District board at its work session that preliminary 2024–25 results show revenues ahead of budget by about $800,000 and an ending general-fund balance of roughly $13,000,000, down from a $15,000,000 beginning balance.
"Overall, we were over budget revenues by $800,000 and that was primarily due to some of the additional ready to learn adequacy supplement funds that we received from the state in 24-25," Adele said. She cautioned the figures are preliminary while auditors finish their work.
Why it matters: the Pennsylvania Department of Education limits schools' unassigned fund balance as a share of budgeted expenditures; Adele said the district's reallocation keeps the unassigned balance under PDE's 8% requirement and that a related resolution will appear on next week’s consent agenda.
Adele identified two persistent cost pressures. "Our special ed costs continue to increase," she said, pointing to a combination of more students needing services and higher provider fees that make placements and support more expensive. She also said cyber-school tuition was higher than budgeted because several students moved into the district while remaining enrolled with outside cyber providers, which continued to generate tuition charges the district must pay.
The update also listed significant capital and reserve numbers: an ending construction-fund balance near $17,000,000 (not including a $15,000,000 bond the district floated July 15), a capital-reserve fund balance of about $6,800,000, a food-service balance of $3,500,000 and a Market Street Sports sponsorship account that has been built up over many years. Adele recommended moving some unexpected capital costs (including a roughly $100,000 bill for fiber trenching tied to the freight-farm project and several repairs) from the general fund into the capital reserve fund where allowable.
Board members pressed for detail on particular lines: Adele estimated the district will lose about $300,000 in real-estate tax revenue for 2025–26 because of a large assessment appeal, and said she expected to receive a TIF invoice for the prior year she estimated at roughly $150,000 but had not yet seen the bill.
Several board members raised questions about athletics-related funds and transfers. Adele said typical annual ticket sales are about $55,000–$60,000 and that the general fund transfers about $170,000 a year to the athletic fund to keep programs running. She also reported the Buckskin Athletics Association (BAA) had a fund balance of about $262,000 and described ongoing conversations about how the district and affiliated booster groups should coordinate and set spending guidelines.
Next steps: the board will see a resolution on fund-balance reallocation on next week’s consent agenda; auditors are expected to present finalized financial statements at the November meeting.
