Tunkhannock Area School Board adopts zero‑mill 2026–27 budget, flags sustained pressure from cyber‑charter costs

The Tunkhannock Area School Board voted to adopt a final 2026–27 budget with a zero‑mill (0%) tax increase, approving a budget that administration said will rely on the district’s fund balance to cover a projected operating deficit reduced to about $2.95 million.

In a presentation and discussion, the superintendent (identified in the record as Mr. Dohy) said the district trimmed roughly $2 million during recent budget work and that the fund balance is “exceptionally healthy,” but warned that ongoing pressures — mandated retirement contributions (~34% of salary), rising health‑care costs (presenter cited about $230,000 increase next year), and the district’s required payments to cyber charter schools — make the current budget pattern unsustainable in the long term. The administration said it has budgeted about $3.2 million for cyber charter school tuition, which it described as the local‑tax equivalent of roughly 11 mills and the equivalent cost of roughly $18,000 per general‑education cyber student and about $35,000 per special‑education cyber student (figures presented by the superintendent during the discussion).

Board members praised the district’s academic and extracurricular offerings and acknowledged that the zero‑mill budget will preserve programs for the coming year, but several members said future years may force difficult choices around staffing levels and programs. The superintendent said the district has eliminated about 65 positions over recent years through attrition and reductions driven by declining enrollment and that further reductions may be necessary if revenue and state funding patterns do not change.

Roll‑call entries in the transcript show the final budget vote passed on the board’s roll call (all listed board members voted yes in the recorded roll call). The board also adopted the district’s Homestead/Farmstead resolution (average reimbursement amount noted as $436 per household) and approved a series of contracts, budget transfers, Title I school plans, and other routine business during the same meeting.