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Easton Area School Board postpones preliminary 2026–27 budget vote after heated debate over reserves
Summary
After two hours of debate about depleted reserves and a proposed 3.5% tax increase (1.5 points dedicated to a new high school), the Easton Area School Board voted 5–4 to postpone a final vote on the preliminary 2026–27 budget and asked administration to return with lower-rate scenarios and line-item cuts.
The Easton Area School Board voted 5–4 to postpone a final vote on the proposed 2026–27 preliminary budget after an extended debate about the district’s declining reserves and the size of a recommended tax-rate increase.
Board members spent more than an hour pressing administration for clearer financial details and alternatives to a proposed 3.5% tax increase, of which 1.5 percentage points were earmarked for funding a new high school. One board member summarized the concern bluntly: “since 2021, we used $42 million of our reserves to balance our spending,” a point that prompted multiple colleagues to ask for scenario analysis that would preserve high-school funding while reducing operating growth.
Superintendent Piazza and district finance staff said the 3.5% package is intended to cover contractual salary and benefit increases and to secure the district’s planned capital work. The district’s CFO acknowledged posting and reporting problems in the current financial statements — including bond payments recorded in separate funds and a software attribute error that had temporarily double-counted health-care costs — and promised corrected reports and a year-end projection within days.
Board members asked administration to return at the May standing committee with concrete alternatives: options to keep the 1.5% dedicated to the high school while cutting operating increases (examples discussed included lowering the general-operating portion by 0.5% or 1%), and line-item suggestions showing where each cut would fall.
Board discussion also focused on timing and public notification. Members who supported postponement argued there is time to revisit the numbers before the statutorily required approval date; opponents responded that repeated delays hamper planning and could leave services vulnerable. The motion to postpone carried 5–4.
Next steps: administration will prepare revised budget scenarios and detail the programmatic and staffing implications of any reductions for the board’s review at the May standing committee, with a planned vote on the proposed final budget to follow at the next regular meeting in May.
