Finance staff outline steps to close $1.03 million budget gap

At the Steelton-Highspire School District board meeting, district finance staff presented a recovery plan to close an estimated $1,027,211 deficit in the proposed final budget and outlined revenue and expenditure steps the administration recommends to balance next year’s budget.

The district’s finance presenter told the board the final proposed budget “had a deficit in it of about, well, $1,027,211,” and said the administration is targeting a mix of spending reductions and one-time revenue maneuvers to eliminate the shortfall. The plan includes withdrawing from three existing transportation contracts where permitted under “school code section 6 42 a,” holding certain vacant positions open rather than filling them, and using savings from lower-than-budgeted health insurance increases.

The presenter said the district had budgeted a roughly 12% health insurance increase but received renewal estimates closer to 6%, which he said would reduce expenditures by about $225,000. He also said the district identified prior overpayments in a health-care reserve and plans to draw down approximately half of that reserve, producing about $400,000 in incoming funds in the new fiscal year.

On the revenue side, the presenter drew the board’s attention to the district’s ACCESS account, a state-held Medicaid-related fund for billable student services. He said the district has more than $600,000 sitting in that fund that has not been drawn down since 2021, and that outside experts estimated the district could bill about $125,000 a year. “What I’m proposing is we put into the budget additional revenue, and this would be drawing out of the ACCESS fund $225,000 a year,” he said, characterizing the figure as a conservative, gradual drawdown to preserve a cushion for unexpected costs.

Board members asked clarifying questions about staffing and service models mentioned in the presentation. The presenter said the administration restored an elementary autism program—adding a teacher and additional support staff—and said he and an absent colleague planned to meet to finalize remaining items so the board could be presented a balanced budget for action on June 17.

Why it matters: The board is working to eliminate a seven-figure gap that would otherwise force deeper cuts or larger revenue shifts. The items discussed—contract adjustments, unfilled vacancies, and staged use of state-held funds—affect staffing, special education services and reserve planning.

What’s next: The presenter said staff and district leadership will continue follow-up work and aim to bring a balanced budget for the board to vote on at the next scheduled budget meeting. The budget still required additional work on a few items before final approval.