At a special board meeting on Jan. 21, BASD voted (6–0) to adopt a preliminary budget with 6.89 percent increase in expenditures. Board members Dr. Dean Donaher, Mike Faccinetto, Craig Neiman, Emily Schenkel, Dr. Kim Shively, and Angela Sinkler were present. A budget workshop will take place March 30, prior to a proposed final budget review on May 4, a proposed final budget vote on May 11, and a final budget vote on June 15.

The board anticipates expenditures of roughly $197.7 million for instruction, $83.4 million for support services, $3.9 million for non-instructional services, and $26.3 million for debt servicing. No money is currently budgeted to be spent from the General Fund for facilities; the HVAC projects planned for the summer of 2020 will use capital reserve funds.

Two major expenditures, which drive spending in the categories listed above, are mandated: $39.2 million for Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS), and $32.4 million for charter schools. PSERS contributions are part of instruction and support services, and represent the district’s required participation in the employee pension fund. Charter school costs are set by the state-regardless of whether the charter school is cyber or brick-and-mortar-at the per-pupil cost of education in the district’s brick-and-mortar public schools, and are not tied to charter schools’ actual per-pupil expenditures. BASD’s education costs are roughly $12,000 per regular education student and $25,000 per special education student.

Local real estate taxes are expected to bring in approximately $170.2 million, with other sources of local revenue bringing the total local contribution to $209.9 million. BASD expects to receive nearly $81.6 million from Harrisburg and just over $6.8 million from the federal government. Equipment sales ($80,000), insurance recoveries ($2,500), and $2 million from the fund balance bring the total expected revenue for 2020-2021 to roughly $300.4 million. By approving this preliminary budget, the board enables the district to apply for an Act 1 exception to the state law limiting property tax millage increases.

One new line item budgeted for 2020-2021 is dual enrollment of high school students at Northampton Community College at a cost of $50,000. Although the figure is a preliminary one, the funds are part of the district’s plan to expand dual enrollment opportunities to students from lower-income families by defraying tuition costs. Line items that were part of the 2019-20 budget but are not anticipated for 2020-21 are negotiation services ($25,000), food service transfer ($148,000), and athletic and capital fund transfers ($148,000).

The board also reviewed the district audit completed by accounting firm Gorman & Associates on Dec. 11. The auditors found BASD’s financial disclosures to be “neutral, consistent, and clear,” but recommended correction of two items: better recordkeeping for the activities associated with middle school student group deposits, and spending all grant money within the associated fiscal year (with no carryover) to facilitate timely reporting to the Pa. Dept. of Education. The auditor also advised the district of recordkeeping changes that will be required to comply with new regulations (GASB Statement Nos. 84 and 87) regarding student clubs and operating leases. The auditor’s full report and the preliminary budget document are both available online (https://go.boarddocs.com/pa/beth/Board.nsf/Public).