Blair schools to get funding

Districts to benefit from increase in education funds in state budget

Blair County school districts are set to benefit from an increase in funding in the 2024-25 state budget signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro on July 11.

The 3.62% increase in the Basic Education Funding allocation came as part of an overall 6% increase in commonwealth spending within a total $47.6 billion budget. Shapiro had laid out an initial 7% overall increase, but negotiations in Harrisburg resulted in the lower final figure.

Every school district in Blair County will receive increases in Basic Education Funding, Special Education Funding and a court-mandated adequacy adjustment within the Ready to Learn block grant that supports early childhood education. That adjustment is in response to a February 2023 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that stated the previous funding system for public schools was unconstitutional and needed an unspecified increase.

Data for district revenues and expenses are drawn directly from publicly available budget documents. These numbers describe how much money each respective district expects to raise from local property taxes plus state and federal funding, in order to pay for staff, supplies and building maintenance costs through the academic year.

The Basic Education Funding allocation is calculated on the number of children enrolled in the district as a portion of the statewide total, weighted for student need and local taxpayer income. BEF funds are used to support the daily function of public schools.

The Special Education Funding allocation provides funding for students with behavioral, cognitive and/or physical disabilities on an Individualized Educational Program that is designed in collaboration with teachers and parents to best suit their child's particular needs.

In Pennsylvania, children who attend cyber charter academies due to a variety of reasons have their tuition paid by their local school district. The Cyber Charter Reimbursement allocation gives a portion of these costs back to the district based on the number of students enrolled in online alternatives.

All of these allocations are issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which administers public education funding and academic standards in the commonwealth.

Here is a summary of every Blair County school districts' financial situation:

Altoona Area

-- 2024-25 Projected revenues: $120,247,431

-- 2024-25 Budgeted expenditures: $121,837,150

-- Deficit: $1,589,719

-- New BEF funding: $118,000

-- New special education funding: $215,000

-- Adequacy adjustment: $3 million

-- New cyber charter reimbursement: $300,000 (estimated)

-- Key takeaway: Any increase in allocation from the state is "always appreciated and is needed and will definitely help," according to business manager Camilla Houy. But if the sizable adequacy adjustment had come in as Basic Education Funding, it would have been used to "fill the hole in our budget," Houy said. Instead, $1 million will go to fully fund the district's full-day kindergarten program, with the fate of the remaining $2 million still under discussion. More than 500 children attend the kindergarten program, Houy said. According to superintendent Brad Hatch, the unspent money is a "good problem to have," which will require further study to deploy properly, since the grant funding can only be put toward several specific uses laid out by the state Department of Education.

Bellwood-Antis

-- 2024-25 Projected revenues: $20,922,352

-- 2024-25 Budgeted expenditures: $21,163,018

-- Deficit: $240,666

-- New BEF funding: $106,997

-- New special education funding: $64,996

-- Adequacy adjustment: $195,723

-- New cyber charter reimbursement: $47,915 (estimated)

-- Key takeaway: With the new funding allocation, Bellwood is set to run a $188,000 budget surplus -- its first in over nine years, according to business manager Greg Gates. This will be used to replenish the district's depleted general fund balance, which had frequently been tapped to compensate for "inadequate" state funding, Gates said.

Claysburg-Kimmel

-- 2024-25 Projected revenues: $14,289,667

-- 2024-25 Budgeted expenditures: $14,651,863

-- Deficit: $362,196

Additional information was not provided.

Hollidaysburg

-- 2024-25 Projected revenues: $55,175,008

-- 2024-25 Budgeted expenditures: $57,749,982

-- Deficit: $2,574,974

-- New BEF funding: $109,454

-- New special education funding: $78,791

-- Adequacy adjustment: $186,750

-- New cyber charter reimbursement: $97,025 (estimated)

-- Key takeaway: According to Hollidaysburg superintendent Curtis Whitesel, the district is considering using the new funds to offset the current budget deficit. Additionally, he said, the district has several maintenance projects that require "immediate attention," and upcoming renegotiations for teachers' union contracts may necessitate some of the incoming money.

"Our financial health is currently not strong. Our capital reserve is low in comparison to most districts, which poses a problem with building needs and repairs. We will not panic and we will continue to save where possible. Hopefully, our feasibility study will help provide us with a direction to help us financially moving forward," Whitesel said.

Penn Cambria

-- 2024-25 Projected revenues: $27,105,334

-- 2024-25 Budgeted expenditures: $28,181,349

-- Deficit: $1,076,015

-- New BEF funding: $109,000

-- New special education funding: $54,000

-- Adequacy adjustment: $351,000

-- New cyber charter reimbursement: $53,000 (estimated)

-- Key takeaway: While the new funding "will absolutely help the district" begin to address the little over $1 million deficit Penn Cambria is currently facing, the district still has more work ahead to deliver a balanced budget, according to business administrator Jill Francisco. "It will help go toward the deficit, but it won't bring us out of our deficit," she said.

Spring Cove

-- 2024-25 Projected revenues: $29,179,933

-- 2024-25 Budgeted expenditures: $31,677,251

-- Deficit: $2,497,324

-- New BEF funding: $140,375

-- New special education funding: $81,000

-- Adequacy adjustment: $461,000

-- New cyber charter reimbursement: $77,963 (estimated)

-- Key takeaway: Business manager Steve Foor is "a little disappointed with what the state has allocated," as the new funding is not enough to bring the rural district out of the current $2,497,318 budget deficit. The "strings attached" to the Ready to Learn block grant that constitutes Spring Cove's adequacy adjustment is another cause for concern, Foor said, because it limits how the capital can be spent. While 15 uses for the grant are outlined by PDE, they are largely limited to early childhood education and professional development initiatives, Foor said. With over $1 million in cyber charter expenses in the 2023-24 school year, the almost $78,000 new reimbursement will not cover the district's projected expenses in 2024-25, Foor said.

Tyrone Area

-- 2024-25 Projected revenues: $28,276,443

-- 2024-25 Budgeted expenditures: $29,198,361

-- Deficit: $921,928

Additional information was not provided.

Williamsburg Community

-- 2024-25 Projected revenues: $8,958,563

-- 2024-25 Budgeted expenditures: $9,202,321

-- Deficit: $243,758

-- New BEF funding: $73,279

-- New special education funding: $128,613.10

-- Adequacy adjustment: $459,080.80

-- New cyber charter reimbursement: $15,645.00

-- Key takeaway: Williamsburg administrators are in the preliminary stages of deciding where to spend the new funding, according to superintendent Lisa Murgas. "I would anticipate the funding to be used on student achievement resources, technology and anything else that is determined to impact student learning," Murgas said. Since the district, which is among the smallest in Blair County, has "always made the best use of funding from the state as possible," its overall financial health was good prior to the new allocation, Murgas noted. "That being said, we were very limited on the resources we could acquire to consistently provide to our students. As we get a better feel for the additional funds, we can make financial decisions that directly impact student achievement," she said.

Appalachian Intermediate Unit 8

-- 2024-24 Budget: $6,594,381.77

-- New core services funding: Undetermined

-- Key takeaway: IU8 is currently in limbo under the new education budget, according to executive director Thomas Butler. The state Department of Education has not told Butler what he is receiving in new funding nor have they released a timeline for the new budget. "I have absolutely no idea," how the commonwealth officials will award the new funds earmarked for IU core services statewide, Butler said. Whatever the final increase is, it will be used to fund direct student support and "put educators in front of children, because that's where the magic happens," Butler said. Unlike school districts, intermediate units cannot levy taxes and are funded by direct state and federal grants. IU8 provides special education, professional development and technical assistance to school districts in parts of six central Pennsylvania counties.

Claysburg-Kimmel and Tyrone Area school districts did not reply to requests for comment.