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Southeast Delco outlines 2026-27 budget pressures, highlighting charter tuition and timeline for adoption
Summary
District leaders told the board the 2026-27 budget faces recurring pressures — chiefly charter tuition and contracted services — and outlined a schedule that would produce a proposed final budget April 23 and a final adoption June 25, 2026.
Dr. Sanchez presented the board with a detailed look at the district's 2026-27 budget challenges and timeline, identifying charter school tuition and contracted services as the primary high-cost areas. He said district enrollment is approximately 3,799 students, with about 719 attending charter schools, and that the district has budgeted roughly $17.5 million for charter tuition in 2026-27. "The most important high-cost area is charter schools," he said, noting new PTE calculations that treat cyber and brick-and-mortar charter tuition differently this year.
Dr. Sanchez walked trustees through object codes 300—600 (purchase professional services, property services, charter payments, supplies and debt service) and described planned increases to several non-salary categories to reflect contracted services and capital needs. He said employee salaries and benefits (object codes 100 and 200) will be presented at a follow-up meeting and that the board must adopt a proposed final budget by April 23 under school code; final adoption is scheduled for June 25.
Finance Committee Chair Mr. Ridley said the committee reviewed month-to-date expenditures and concluded the district currently shows a surplus that will decline as invoices and obligations are paid but should leave some cushion going into the budget process. Trustees asked for year-to-date and prior-year (2024-25) reports for object codes 300—600 to better understand the percent increases; administration agreed to provide those reports and said some contracted spending may shift to payroll as new hires are made.
The presentation also reviewed Act 1 index history and past district choices to remain conservative on tax-rate increases. Dr. Sanchez noted the administration's intent to balance fiscal stewardship with instructional priorities and said the budget documents presented will be refined in April and May ahead of the scheduled adoptions.
Next steps: the district will post the full object-code budget and salary/benefits details at the next committee meeting, provide the requested year-to-date and 2024-25 year-end reports, and bring a completed proposed budget for board adoption on April 23.
