Harrisburg School District Lincoln Administration Building
The Harrisburg School District has started crafting its spending plan for the upcoming year.
At a school board meeting this week, district officials presented a preliminary 2023-24 balanced budget of $216.5 million.
The proposal does not include a property tax increase.
The proposed spending plan would be a decrease from the current year’s budget of $227.4 million, as federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding used in last year’s budget comes to an end, according to Dr. Marcia Stokes, chief financial officer for the district.
The budget would include funding for new pre-K classrooms, which the district plans to start, dependent on receiving Pennsylvania Department of Education Pre-K Counts grant funding.
Stokes also noted the potential elimination of certain vacant job positions within the budget and the addition of positions, such as increasing the number of ESL teachers, school psychologists, special education staff and career counselors.
In total, the budget proposes spending $58 million, the largest allocation, on salaries, and another $41 million on staff benefits. About $29 million would fund purchased property services, which includes money for the renovation project at Steele Elementary School, which is slated to reopen in August 2024. Another $38.6 million would support other purchased services, which includes funds the district pays to area charter schools.
Stokes explained that the budget is still in its early stages and may change over the coming weeks, as collective bargaining agreements with unions are finalized and state funding is announced.
District Receiver Dr. Lori Suski is expected to act on the proposed final budget on May 23 and on the final budget on June 27.
For more information, visit the Harrisburg School District’s website.
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