ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown School District will temporarily withhold 40% of monthly charter school tuition payments as a cost-saving measure until the state passes a budget, which was due about four months ago.
Jesse Walck, the district’s executive director of financial planning, said charter schools have been notified of the reduced payments, which start this month.
“We’re not trying to drive [the charter schools] out of business. They’re our partners, and we want to make sure they’re able to operate, because if we were to withhold full payment, they would have serious financial issues.”Jesse Walck, Allentown School District executive director of financial planning
The charter schools were told ASD reserves the right to modify the percentage withheld from monthly payments while the budget impasse continues.
“We’re not trying to drive [the charter schools] out of business,” Walck said.
“They’re our partners, and we want to make sure they’re able to operate, because if we were to withhold full payment, they would have serious financial issues.”
Officials felt the 40% reduction was fair given the circumstances, according to the district.
Other local districts withholding tuition
Once a state budget is passed, the charter schools will begin getting full payments again and will be issued back funding, Walck said.
Superintendent Carol Birks announced ASD’s decision to reduce charter school payments at Thursday’s school board meeting. The topic was not an agenda item voted on by the board.
Other Lehigh Valley school districts recently decided to withhold charter school payments during the budget impasse, too.
Parkland and Northern Lehigh school districts are temporarily withholding 100% of charter school payments.
Bethlehem Area, Northwestern Lehigh and Salisbury Township school districts are withholding part of their monthly charter school payments based on the percentage of their respective revenue that comes from state funds.
Bethlehem Area, Northwestern Lehigh and Salisbury Township, respectively, are withholding 30%, 29% and 21% of their monthly payments.
'Prolonged delay' forces difficult decisions
In addition to withholding charter school tuition, Superintendent Birks said ASD is taking other cost-saving measures.
For instance, it's also reducing nonessential spending and limiting overtime hours to save money.
Still, Birks said the budget impasse is "significantly impacting" the district's ability to operate efficiently.
She said ASD entered the fiscal year in a stable financial position, but the “prolonged delay” in state funding is straining the district and “forcing [it] to make some difficult decisions.”
ASD gets more than $333 million a year from the state, which accounts for 67% of its operating budget, she said.
If the currently proposed state budget is approved, it would provide ASD with more than $24.4 million in additional funding.
But amid the budget impasse, Birks said the district will use the funding it has to remain “focused on protecting classroom resources, instructional supports and the well-being of our students.”
'State budget is not a game'
School Board President Andrene Brown-Nowell commended the district administration for pivoting and making budgetary adjustments while it operates without state funding.
“I just want to say on behalf of the board, the state budget is not a game,” she said.
"It’s absence is not merely an accounting issue, it’s a crisis of conscience with a direct human cost right here in Allentown.”Andrene Brown-Nowell, Allentown School Board President
“It’s a fundamental promise of a quality education. Its absence is not merely an accounting issue, it’s a crisis of conscience with a direct human cost right here in Allentown.”
Brown-Nowell also said the budget impasse causes “anxiety and fear” for district staff members who are worried they may lose their jobs because of lack of funding.
“That is not a good working environment to be in,” she said.
Brown-Nowell thanked Lehigh Valley legislators who represent the region at the state level for their advocacy on passing a budget.
She also chastised those officials who aren’t willing to work toward a budget deal.
“It’s sad and it's shameful that we’re about to approach the month of November and there’s not a budget,” she said.
Still, the district must begin planning for next fiscal year even as the current budget remains unresolved.
School directors Thursday approved an Act 1 opt-out resolution for the 2026-27 budget, agreeing not to raise taxes more than 5.4%.
ASD has not raised taxes in the past three years.
