Salisbury board hears budget that builds in autistic‑support classroom and $2.4M of potential new staffing

The Salisbury Township School District board on Feb. 19 reviewed a draft 2025–26 budget that administrators said currently contains nearly $2.4 million in additional expenditures largely driven by proposed new positions and expanded special‑education staffing.

Dawn (secretary/finance staff, speaker 4) walked the board through updated IFO projections and the district’s planning assumptions, and said the Governor’s proposed increase to basic education aid would add about $47,000 to Salisbury’s revenue picture. She said the packet the board received builds in many vacancy and potential positions now so the district can later remove lines if needed rather than try to add them back in after the import process is complete.

“It’s easier for us to remove the positions later from the budget than it is to add things in,” the finance lead said, summarizing the district’s approach to constructing the draft budget.

The largest single set of proposed additions is for autistic‑support and related special‑education staffing. Administration listed the components of an anticipated middle‑school autistic‑support classroom and accompanying staff: an autistic‑support teacher (listed in materials at about $133,000 with salary and benefits) plus three full‑time instructional assistants (the packet lists $191,033.88 for those IAs), additional emotional‑support and part‑time IA allocations and other vacancy‑built positions. Administration said those specific IA and teacher positions total roughly $942,678.02 in the current draft and are included in the roughly $2.399 million increase shown in the packet.

Board members questioned how IA salaries are coded and why the category looks larger than expected; staff explained many IAs are coded across multiple programs or split half‑time among assignments, which affects line‑by‑line comparisons to prior years. The administration added that some students currently placed out‑of‑district could return if the middle‑school autistic‑support classroom is created, potentially offsetting some tuition costs.

Administrators also listed several other proposed positions now in the draft: three regular education teachers, a middle‑school math interventionist, a high‑school elective, and an elementary class‑size position dependent on enrollment. Lynn (administration) said the full budget with a prioritized 'wish list' and gap analysis will be presented in April, at which point the board will consider tax‑increase options if needed.

Treasurer’s report, vote and next steps

The meeting also included the monthly Treasurer’s Report and a motion to approve it. Mrs. McKelvey (speaker 16) said she could not, in good conscience, vote for the Treasurer’s Report because she had not had time to verify month‑to‑date and year‑to‑date numbers and she voted 'nay' when the motion was called. One other board member (speaker 10) also voiced a 'no.' The motion carried and the board moved on to budget and committee business.

What happens next

Finance staff said they will post a fuller budget packet and five‑year forecast in advance of the April discussion and provide a clearer breakout showing the draft increase with and without the vacancy‑built positions. Administrators described the current draft as inclusive of positions they may recommend but not necessarily final recommendations; removing lines is possible before final adoption.

Votes at a glance (outcomes recorded during the meeting)

- Approval of prior minutes and payment of bills: approved. - Treasurer’s Report: motion carried; recorded 'nay' votes from Mrs. McKelvey (speaker 16) and a second board member (speaker 10) who said 'no' on the record. - Operations items (3.1–3.4, including Raptor agreement and Albirell Electric alarm contract): approved. - Personnel slate (5.1–5.9, including coach hires and confidential support staff agreement): approved. - LCTI 2025–26 budget and Salisbury’s contribution ($1,227,503.17): approved. - Cooperative middle‑school softball with Allentown Central Catholic: approved.

Reported numbers above are taken from the board presentation and meeting packet; several line items in the packet were displayed in meeting slides and will be included in the April budget packet for final review.