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East Stroudsburg Area SD Officials Outline $34.4M Budget Shortfall, Propose $3.8M in Cuts
Summary
District staff told the board the 2026 budget faces an anticipated $34.4 million shortfall and outlined about $3.77 million in preliminary reductions — including district-paid curricular field trips, some Chromebook purchases and delayed security upgrades — while proposing a possible debt restructure and a 5% millage-index increase as options.
District staff told the East Stroudsburg Area School District board that the district is facing an anticipated $34.4 million budget shortfall next year and presented a package of immediate reductions designed to narrow that gap.
"We presented last month that we are anticipating a $34.4 million deficit," the staff member reported to the board, saying cabinet and finance committee work removed about $3.77 million from the proposed budget. The cuts include elimination of district-funded curricular field trips, postponement of Chromebook purchases for the next budget cycle, delays to planned security camera upgrades, reduced advertising/media spending and the suspension of nonessential professional conferences and refreshments.
The staff member said the administration has asked PFM to present options for a debt restructure in April that could lower next year's payments by roughly $3 million but warned it may put pressure on the district's credit rating. "PFM said yes but two things: this is probably the last time we can restructure and there is a concern about our credit rating," the staff member said.
Board members repeatedly pressed for clearer dollar impacts tied to each proposed cut. "If you're going to offer these suggestions of ways to shave the budget, could you give us a dollar amount for each item?" asked Keith Carut, who raised concerns about the field-trip proposal. The staff member agreed to provide line-item savings and additional data at the next meeting.
On Chromebooks, staff said devices typically follow a four-year lifecycle and that stretching some devices to a five-year cycle could buy roughly $900,000 next year. IT staff have been asked to return detailed work-order and condition reports for devices coming back at the end of their cycle.
The administration also said it will suggest a millage increase to the index (described in the meeting as 5%) that could yield about $4.425 million; timing and final revenue depend on state rebate figures and tax assessment updates that were not yet available. The staff member emphasized that any decisions about restoring cut items would require equal savings elsewhere in the budget.
Next steps: PFM will be asked to present restructuring scenarios in April, the finance committee will review options and a revised, more detailed budget will return to the full board for consideration next month.
