Board debates draft resolution urging state to pass budget; members seek revised wording

The Oley Valley School District’s policy committee presented a draft resolution intended to urge the Pennsylvania General Assembly to pass a state budget. The presenting committee member said the delay has real financial consequences for the district — “we are estimating that we're out over $3,600,000, and an estimated $31,000 of lost interest revenue,” the member said — and argued the resolution is a nonpartisan request for lawmakers to “do your job.”

Several board members raised objections to associating the district with language that they said had been posted on PSBA’s site under the district’s name without their final approval. One member told the committee, “I’m absolutely not voting for this,” citing previous experience where the district’s name was attached to language members did not endorse. Another member asked for a simpler, shorter draft and volunteered to redline the resolution for the next meeting.

The group debated whether the resolution would force a political stance or merely ask for a functioning budget; presenters emphasized the resolution would not compel any specific policy choices but would press for the legislature to resume budget negotiations. Members agreed to continue the discussion, circulate a redline version, and reconvene the item at the next meeting rather than submitting the current draft to external parties immediately.

Next step: committee members will produce a redline draft for the board’s next discussion; the transcript does not record a vote on the resolution at this meeting.