The Board received an overview Monday of where the district’s budget is ahead of today’s state budget address from Gov. Josh Shapiro.

In an 11-district cohort with the same average daily membership, Altoona Area has the lowest revenues and expenditures, based on 2023-24 data that business manager Sue Franks presented to the board.

Altoona Area’s average daily membership is 7,277.908, ranking it as the 37th largest district out of the 500 public school districts in the commonwealth. In 2023-24, the district’s revenues were about $133.8 million and expenditures were about $130 million.

The data Franks presented to the board shows five school districts with a larger average daily membership — Seneca

Valley, Bensalem Township, West Shore, Harrisburg City and York City — and five districts with a lower average daily membership — Hempfield, Bristol Township, Tredyffrin-Eastown, State College Area and East Stroudsburg Area.

For reference, York City’s revenues in 2023-24 were about $214.9 million and expenditures were about $198.6 million, according to Franks’ data. East Stroudsburg Area School District’s revenues were about $182 million and expenditures were about $182.1 million during the same year.

Franks said the data translates to Altoona Area having the lowest expense for average daily membership, meaning the district operates leaner than any of the other school districts its size.

“We make the best use of our revenue stream,” Franks said.

Another comparison showed that Altoona Area receives more state and federal revenue and less local revenue than 10 other school districts with about the same amount of total revenue.

When compared to other school district’s equalized mills for 2023-24, Altoona Area ranked 480 out of 500 total districts, according to Franks’ data.

“As a taxing body compared to every other school district in the state, we rank 480th out of 500. So our tax base is lower than most of the other school districts in the state of Pennsylvania,” Franks said.

Franks said district officials use prior year’s data to create a new budget each year. There were significant changes in revenues and expenditures in 2024-25’s actual budget compared to 2023-24’s actual budget, she said.

Changes in revenue included $954,000 in basic education; $450,000 in special education; $455,000 in the Homestead/Farmstead Exclusion; and $912,000 in competitive grants.

Changes in expenditures included a $1.9 million increase in medical costs; a $1.5 million increase in outside cyber charter tuition; and a $330,000 increase for substitutes and instructional services.

Anticipated budget changes for 2026-27’s salary and wages include a $1.4 million increase for the district’s collective bargaining agreement with the Altoona Area Education Association; a $750,000 increase for other compensation groups; a $250,000 increase in utility costs; and increases for new positions and medical costs.

Franks said officials are hoping to receive some good news from the governor’s office today, which will give them a better idea of their anticipated state revenue ahead of approving a preliminary budget in May.

She noted there are many unknown factors in the budgeting process currently, which makes it hard to predict whether a potential real estate tax increase is necessary this year.

The state budget could award the district enough funding to cover the anticipated increases in expenditures, and the district has a fund balance of over $41 million to fall back on if the district needs it, Franks said.

Superintendent Brad Hatch and school board President Val Mignogna commended Franks and her team during Monday’s committee of the whole meeting for balancing fiscal responsibility with innovation.

Hatch said Altoona Area has been successful in pursuing grant opportunities for projects so officials don’t have to tap into the district’s fund balance. Officials also recently completed an audit of all software and programming licenses to ensure they don’t overlap, so the district can get the maximum utilization out of those products, he said.

“We’re constantly looking at ways that we can be fiscally responsible and sound all while maintaining and/or expanding programming,” Hatch said.

Mignogna said Franks and her team are “super fiscally responsible, despite what the public might think and what social media might think.”

“You’ve demonstrated extreme fiscal responsibility and it makes it easy for us to defend the school district out there when we answer to the public,” he said to Franks. “When you stack us up against other school districts, we’re doing a tremendous job.”

The board will hold future committee of the whole meetings in March and April to provide more in-depth discussions about the district’s 2026-27 preliminary budget.

State law requires school districts to adopt a final budget by June 30 each year.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.