FY27 budget gap drove closures, then eased when the Borough matched last year's funding

What happened

Going into 2026, the district projected FY27 state-plus-local revenue would fall about $7.8 million below FY26 (from roughly $139 million to $131 million), with the Base Student Allocation held flat at $6,660 per student and enrollment continuing to decline; the preliminary budget the board adopted April 6, 2026 assumed the Borough would fund the district at $59,074,865, about $3.3 million less than FY26's actual $62,359,080. That shortfall was the stated basis for the four school closures approved the same night. By early June 2026, the Borough Assembly instead matched FY26's $62,359,080 in local funding and the state added about $9.5 million in one-time funding, improving the final FY27 budget picture — but the board did not reverse the closures already approved.

Why it matters to families

The size of the funding gap, not just the dollar figures, is what forced the closure decisions. That the final funding came in well above what the board planned around in April shows how fast-moving and uncertain the district's finances are from year to year, and that decisions made under a worst-case projection are not undone even when the picture improves later.

The evidence

The April 6, 2026 preliminary-budget attachment and approved minutes show the $59.07 million funding assumption and the projected shortfall; the July 7, 2026 approved minutes and attached FY27 Budget Revision Narrative describe the Borough Assembly's subsequent $62,359,080 local appropriation and the added one-time state funding.

The source