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MILL HALL -- Joni MacIntyre, business manager of the Keystone Central School District, presented the revised 2024-2025 school year budget to the school board during this week's school board work session, announcing the district is now expected to have a surplus thanks to increases in state revenue sources.
The passage of the Pennsylvania State Budget resulted in Keystone Central acquiring an additional $794,745 in revenue. The funds leave the district, which expected a shortfall of $417,053, a surplus of $377,692.
The increased revenue means Keystone will not need to use its reserve funding to close the budget gap. The revision leaves the district with $18,290,209 in reserve funds, exceeding the $17,912,517 that was initially projected.
The revenue increase stems from four sources in the state education appropriations: the Basic Education, Ready to Learn Adequacy, Special Education and the Career and Technical Subsidies.
KCSD will receive an additional $478,385 in their Basic Education Subsidy allotment, which constitutes a two percent increase from 2023-2024. This translates to an increase of $28,717 in the projected budget.
"I did budget most of that money. The only portion of that money I did not budget was $28,717, but we did get close to budgeting that amount," said MacIntyre.
The Ready to Learn Block Grant, designed to support schools in enhancing and innovating local learning opportunities, saw a substantial increase of $526 million (178%) over the 2023-24 fiscal year appropriation, based on the Pa. Department of Education's Summary of State Appropriations for Education. According to MacIntyre, 340 school districts received these funds, with KCSD being one of them.
Each district received a base amount at least equal to last year's distribution, with additional funds allocated based on a formula to prioritize the most struggling districts. Keystone Central School District will benefit from an increase of $489,536 as a result.
From the Special Education Subsidy, the district will receive $4,291,422, an increase of $168,817 from the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which constitutes a 4.2% rise.
The Career and Technical Subsidy saw the largest percentage increase across the four revenue streams with an 11 percent growth compared to the previous year. According to the budget update, the district is set to receive $1,005,537, an increase of $108,285.
For the 2024-2025 fiscal year, $46.3 million, or 52 percent of the budget, will be funded by state sources. Local revenue streams will contribute $39.5 million, or 44 percent, while federal sources will provide a meager 4 percent, amounting to $3.3 million. The total budget will be $89,159,588.
"Overall, (I am) very pleased with the additional revenues for 24-25," MacIntyre said.