The finance committee of the Northampton Area School District Board of Education is weighing cost-cutting options since the NASD 2026-27 preliminary budget has a $12.7 million deficit.

At its Feb. 5 meeting in the Northampton Area High School library conference room, the finance committee discussed the per capita tax, charter school costs, district employee prescription drug costs, Northampton Area Public Library funding, the community education program and the NASD long-range fiscal plan.

Concerning modifying the per capita tax, “It wouldn’t be homeowners picking up the cost. Roughly 42% would be shifted to industry,” said NASD Business Administrator Craig Neiman, who chaired the 2.5-hour finance committee meeting.

According to the website for Berkheimer, the tax administration firm, “The per capita tax is a flat-rate local tax payable by all adult residents living within a taxing jurisdiction.”

The tax is due yearly and is based on residency. It is not dependent on employment or property ownership. Municipalities and school districts were given the right to collect a $10 per capita tax under Act 511, and school districts an additional $5 under Act 679 regarding the school tax code, according to the Berkheimer website.

“I feel it’s a more streamlined strategy,” said finance committee member and school Director Jamie Marchiano.

“We had a very preliminary conversation with Keystone (tax collections group for NASD),” Neiman said.

“We could get a substantial increase (in the per capita tax),” said finance committee member and school Director Kristin Soldridge. “I recommend we move forward with this. There’s going to be a huge potential for East Allen and Northampton.”

“I think the shift to the commercial-industrial is a definite benefit to the average taxpayers,” said finance committee member and school Director Joshua Harris.

The next topic discussed was charter school costs. Neiman distributed charts depicting trends in public school, nonpublic and charter school costs and enrollments.

“Our enrollments in charter schools go up, and our costs go up,” Neiman said.

NASD pays tuition related to charter schools.

A chart in the preliminary budget presentation depicts approximately $8 million in the 2025-26 district for district students’ charter schools tuition, expected to increase to $9 million or $10 million in the 2026-27 district budget, compared to approximately $3 million in the 2016-17 budget, an increase of approximately 228% in 10 years.

At the finance committee meeting, a chart depicted school enrollment trends from the 2015-16 school year to the 2025-26 year and estimates to the 2030-31 school year.

Total district enrollment decreased from 6,344 in 2015-16 to 6,114 in 2025-26. Of that:

• NASD enrollment decreased from 5,475 in 2015-16 to 5,191 in 2025-26, or from 86.3% to 84.9%;

• Nonpublic (parochial, private schools) enrollment decreased from 535 in 2015-16 to 367 in 2025-26, or from 8.4% to 6.0%;

• Home school enrollment increased from 94 in 2015-16 to 136 in 2025-26, or from 1.5% to 2.2%; and

• Charter school enrollment increased from 240 in 2015-16 to 420 in 2025-26, or from 3.8% to 6.9%.

A chart in the preliminary budget presentation at the Jan. 12 school board meeting states: “Parents are electing to move students to charter schools, rather than pay private school tuition.”

Charts presented to the finance committee list school-by-school private, parochial, charter and home school attendance from the 2015-16 school year to the 2024-25 school year and estimates to the 2030-31 school year.

Neiman said he is budgeting $9 million, not $10 million, for charter school costs in the 2026-27 school budget. This could reduce the deficit from $12.7 million to $11.7 million.

“We do see a cost avoidance. It’s like a one-year reprieve,” Neiman said.

Neiman credited NASD Assistant Business Administrator Jason Williamson, who attended the finance committee meeting, with the charter school analysis.

The next topic discussed was district employee benefits.

“There are no quick fixes,” Neiman said.

Conrad Siegel, an actuarial consulting firm, provided NASD an overview.

”They didn’t see anything that was wildly out of line with our peer districts,” Neiman said.

NASD spent an estimated $1 million in the 2024-25 budget on diabetes and/or weight-loss prescriptions, known as GLP-1 medications, compared to $100,000 in the 2021-22 budget, according to Neiman.

“Three-quarters are for weight loss,” Neiman said. “It’s basically doubling every year.”

FDA-approved prescription weight-loss medications include Tirzepatide (Zepbound), Semaglutide (Wegovy) and Phentermine-topiramate (Qsymia).

“It’s very surprising that the school district is still paying for that,” Marchiano said.

“Why can’t we say to the union to see about opening that piece and cut down on some higher-priced prescriptions?” Soldridge asked.

“What about a hiring freeze?” Harris asked.

“I would say we’re there,” Neiman replied.

Concerning Northampton Area Public Library funding, Soldridge said to Neiman, “I think we can give you a recommendation now: Remove it.”

“We don’t have the funds, the $270,000, to give to the library,” Harris said.

Concerning the community education program, Soldridge said, “If we can’t make it profitable, then we have to look at it.”

Concerning the long-range fiscal plan, Harris said, “We’ve got years of work cut out for us to turn this around. Look at these numbers. We’re going to have to make some drastic changes.”

The NASD school board finance committee next meets 6 p.m. March 5 in the NAHS auditorium, 1619 Laubach Ave. The NASD school board next meets 6:30 p.m. March 9 in the NAHS auditorium.