CRESSON — The Penn Cambria School District is facing a budget deficit of about $4.6 million and plans to raise local property taxes to the state’s Act 1 Index of 5% for the 2026-27 fiscal year, business administrator Jill Francisco said Tuesday.

During the school board’s committee of the whole meeting, Francisco gave an overview of the preliminary budget’s first draft, which has revenues set at a little over $30 million and expenditures at about $34.6 million.

Francisco said the $4.6 million deficit is due to two major projects — a stadium renovation project totaling just over $2 million and a list of capital improvements at the pre-primary school building.

Francisco said the capital improvements are being paid out of the general fund balance instead of the district’s bond fund. The district’s general fund balance was about $11.6 million as of June 2025, she said.

“Because of those two things, that’s what’s causing our deficit to be so high,” Francisco said.

Francisco said it’s not concerning that the district is planning to use about one-third of its general fund balance because it’s a planned use of the fund balance that district officials plan to replenish over time.

“We were committing that fund balance for this purpose, for capital projects, because we knew that facilities needed to be upgraded. So, it’s a planned use of the fund balance,” Francisco said.

The preliminary budget will be voted on during the May board meeting before a final budget is adopted in June, Francisco said. All school districts must approve a final budget before the state’s June 30 deadline.

If the board votes to raise taxes to the Act I Index, Francisco said the increase would raise taxes by 3.44 mills in Cambria County, generating about $348,000 for the district, and by 0.27 mills in Blair County, which would generate about $1,400.

The increase would set the district’s new millage rates as 72.04 mills for Cambria and 9.82 mills in Blair, Francisco said.

Based on the district’s average residential assessment, property taxes would increase about $39 in Cambria and almost $20 in Blair, she said, noting the amount would be reduced for residents who qualify for the Homestead-

Farmstead exclusion.

District officials won’t know how much of an allocation they’ll receive from the tax relief program until May 1, Francisco said, adding the amount will be based on the number of properties that qualify for the exclusion.

In-house PAES program

During the meeting, the board also discussed the idea of starting an in-house Practical Assessment Exploration System lab, a program designed to evaluate and train students in employment skills related to areas of business and marketing, computer technology, constructional and industrial, processing production and consumer service.

Carrie Conrad, the district’s special education director, said Penn Cambria currently pays between $34,000 and $50,000 to send anywhere from four to eight students to the Admiral Peary Area Vocational-Technical School for their PAES program.

Conrad said it would cost Penn Cambria about $51,000 to create its own PAES lab, which would be open to more students and pay for itself over time through cost savings. She noted other school districts, such as Portage Area, have already done something similar and are having great success with their programs.

Superintendent Jamie Hartline said he supports the idea and has expressed the district’s desire to pull out of Admiral Peary’s program with Joe Luther, the vo-tech’s executive director.

“It’s a positive for our kids. It’s a positive for our budget,” Hartline said.

A resolution to formally start Penn Cambria’s internal PAES lab program is expected to be voted on during next Tuesday’s regular meeting.

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