With education funding from the state still in limbo as the Pennsylvania General Assembly nears one month since its missed budget deadline, schools are beginning to sound the alarm.

Butler County students will return to the classroom in about a month. But with the possibility of missed state payments looming, districts are contemplating what a prolonged budget battle would mean if state House Democrats and Senate Republicans can’t come to an agreement.

The topic has come up at recent school board meetings, as board members and school administrators try to plan for the coming weeks and months.

“Depending on when that happens, things could be a little tight,” said Debbie Brandstetter, Mars Area School District’s business manager.

In Pennsylvania, school districts are required to pass their budgets by the end of June, just like the General Assembly. That creates a situation where districts must pass their budgets without knowing what funding will actually be allotted from the state.

This is the fourth consecutive year the Pennsylvania General Assembly has missed its own budget deadline.

On July 18, Spotlight PA reported that while key state lawmakers were publicly expressing optimism over state budget negotiations, there privately has been skepticism, and Democrats and Republicans are not close to each other on proposed overall spending.

“We have to have a budget done by June. We are required to do that,” Al Vavro, Butler Area School District board President, said July 14. “The state and federal governments can play games until they fight each other and argue with each other, and that’s ridiculous. You have a checkbook. How are you supposed to write checks if you have no idea what your balance is? We don’t know — and it’s very frustrating.”

Total expenses, expected revenue and reserves widely differ by district in Butler County. But overall, funds are used for a range of things, such as capital expenses for construction renovations; operating expenses, like staff salaries and utilities; and various school programs.

A spokesperson for Pennsylvania's Department of Education told Spotlight PA the agency would not be able to make payments on July 21 for programs like adult basic education, Early Intervention, pre-K Counts and Head Start.

Though payments will ramp up in September, districts are already seeing missed payments.

Brandstetter told the school board July 22 that in the previous school year, the district had received about $1.9 million from the state in the months of July and August.

For this upcoming school year, Mars expects about $16.8 million to come from state sources.

Brandstetter said her district will start receiving tax revenue in August, something that will partially offset the impact of the absent state funds. She also said Mars Area School District has around $8 million in reserves currently sitting in a CD account it can pull from if needed.

“We can pull from that if we need to. So we’d be good for the next several months, providing they can pass a budget,” Brandstetter said. “We’re in a position where it’s not going to impact us in the short term. But if it were to drag on, then that would really be an issue.”

Butler Area School District expects $56.4 million — about 47% of its revenue — to come from the state in 2025-26. White has emphasized how the board has already approved the hiring of 20 new employees, something that is “predicated on our budget we passed in June.”

“If that budget is impacted, if we get half a million dollars less from the state, what do we do? What we’d have to do is dip into our savings. That savings is also how we take care of a roof repair. That savings is how we take care of a crack in the sidewalk. That savings is how we take care of security issues,” White said. “So we’re spending money we didn’t plan to spend.”

Evan McGarvey, Karns City Area School District’s director of business affairs, told his board on July 21 that from what he’s heard, cyber charter reform has become entangled in budget talks. He said he’s confident that with budget talks progressing, there will eventually be an agreement.

“I expect there to be some level of reform, but it may not be as drastic as what was originally discussed. There’s been a number of advocacy groups representing schools in Harrisburg in these conversations, urging everybody,” McGarvey said. “As soon as the budget gets passed, the sooner our normal cash flow starts coming. Hopefully by next meeting we’ll have a budget, but we’ll see.”

Karns City Area School District expects just over $18 million to come from state sources for this year, out of its expected $26.7 million in revenue.

The state budget delay is impacting education finances at the college level too. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education announced July 18 that in-state, undergraduate tuition for its 10 universities will increase by $139 per semester to a total of $3,997 per semester. This would impact Slippery Rock University students.

Tuition had been kept frozen for the past seven years by the system’s board of governors. The state system said the increase could potentially be rolled back, depending on if the state budget “provides sufficient funding” when resolved.

It has yet to be determined what an exact number for education funding would look like, as state Democrats and Republicans continue to negotiate.

“This is not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue. This isn’t good governance to operate like this,” White said. “They had six months to talk about the budget. They waited until late May to start talking.”