The school board and district staff, borough assembly and City Hall staff will meet in a work session on Monday, April 27, to discuss the school district budget and other finance-related issues.

The meeting, which is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. in Room 101 at Evergreen Elementary School, is open to the public.

As a work session, neither the school board nor the assembly can take any action at the meeting.

It is the second joint work session between the two governing bodies in two months.

At the March 5 meeting, borough officials presented the school board with a long-term plan for increased, predictable borough funding for schools, in exchange for the board adopting policy changes regarding its budgeting and maintenance expense planning.

“Speaking for myself (not the entire assembly),” Mayor Patty Gilbert said April 16, “I would like to consistently give up to the cap (the maximum local contribution allowed under state law).”

In some years, the borough has funded the schools at the maximum level, and in other years has come up short of the cap.

Gilbert acknowledged that the school district has been using reserves to balance its budget in recent years and hopes that a cooperative effort between school and borough officials could help relieve some of the financial strain.

The district’s draft $6.08 million general operating budget for the 2026-2027 school year — which the board was going to consider, possibly amend and then approve at its meeting on Monday, April 20 — relies on reserves for about 10% of its revenues.

State dollars cover more than 60% of the spending plan, with borough funds at close to 30%. The borough’s contribution comes from sales tax revenues and federal aid designated for schools and roads.

The district is required to submit its budget and request for borough funding to the assembly by May 1. The assembly then builds school funding into the borough’s overall budget, which will be decided in June.