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Officials warn of early $1.3M shortfall; board discusses options including possible high‑school property sale
Summary
A business‑office adviser told the Northern Cambria School Board of an early, preliminary $1.3 million gap in the 2025–26 budget and that the district will search for unreported revenues and cuts; a board member suggested exploring sale of the unused high‑school building to help close the gap.
Mindy Stuck, the district’s PASBO representative working with the business office, told the board the district’s initial review of the 2025–26 numbers shows expenditures could exceed revenues by about $1.3 million if current trends continue.
"We are actually at this point ... looking at a budget that someone else prepared. . . we are seeing at year end a deficit of about $1.3 million," Stuck said, adding that the district has about $2 million in fund balance and will work immediately to verify revenues and identify expenditure reductions.
Stuck said staff will look for missed revenue (including the PCC grant and state subsidy reimbursements) and examine all spending areas. She described the $1.3 million figure as a worst‑case, early estimate and urged board members to avoid public naming of individuals in follow‑up questions (which might require executive session).
Mr. Asher added that the district is submitting reimbursements for bond payments to the state and expects an influx of funds "within the next week or two," and he thanked Stuck for her assistance.
Later in the meeting, board member Norma asked that the board add discussion at the town meeting about the steps necessary to sell the high‑school property, saying a sale could help redeem the shortfall and reduce ongoing maintenance costs for an unused building.
No formal vote was taken on any specific budget cuts or property disposition at the March 17 meeting. Board staff said they will continue to investigate revenue sources and return with recommendations; the business office emphasized this was an early assessment intended to guide immediate verification and planning.
