ECASD Board of Directors Pass Preliminary Budget with Tax Increase; Consider Financing Plan for Budget Shortfall

The Ellwood City Area School District’s Board of Directors passed a preliminary budget—which calls for a 4.9 percent tax increase—and authorized administration to work with PFM Financial Advisors LLC, as Municipal Advisor on a financing plan as the district faces a more than $1 million budget shortfall. (view the preliminary budget here)

Board directors and school officials have a big financial job ahead of them in the coming months as they seek to increase revenues while decreasing spending to work toward a more structurally balanced budget.

Melissa Maze of PFM said this financing plan is strictly a strategy for cash flow relief, not an overall solution. She said the key will be finding the structural balance.

“This will buy you the time to make the structural changes,” she said.

During the May 4 Committee Meeting, PFM presented the board with three scenarios of options of financing plans (view the scenarios here) and said that scenarios one and two were more fitting for the district’s needs. Both options included the same amount of cash, but the first option included a caveat where a district owned building would be leased to an “entity,” tying the district to that “entity” for 20 years. Upon discussion, and at the guidance of Matt Lentz, CEO of EDM, A financial and operations consulting firm for education, special districts, and municipalities, and consultant for the district, the board decided to put scenario two on the table for a vote.

The motion passed with “Yes” votes from all board directors with the exception of Erica Gray. Gray also voted “No” to the preliminary budget, along with board director Kathy Tillia.

As Monday’s meeting contined, Directors Gray and Jennifer Tomon briefly mentioned the consideration of closing a district building as a means to curb expenditures, but no formal discussion continued.

Just last month, the board considered studying the staffing needs of the district to address the shortfall but following testimony from teachers and staff and the public, it was voted down. At that time, District Superintendent Dr. Amy Anderson attributed the shortfall to numerous factors some of which include costs of special education, the impact of the cost of cyber charter schools, and debt services tied to bonds for recent district construction projects—all which has led to a pattern of spending exceeded revenue, creating a dependency on the fund balance.

In November 2025, The Ellwood City Area School District’s Board of Directors voted 5-3 to Adopt a Resolution, as prepared by Bond Counsel, authorizing the issuance of General Obligation Bonds, in an amount not to exceed $11,905,000, for capital improvements to the School District’s educational facilities. Directors Kathy Galbreath, Kathy Tillia, and Kevin Boariu voted “No” on the motion. Director Norman Boots was absent from the meeting (Read more here). Newcomer to the board, Nick Mancini asked Lenz why the bonds were secured if the district was in financial distress. Lentz said he advised the board based on the financial information that they had at that time.

Anderson stepped in to say that this isn’t the first time the board has passed a deficit budget.

“It’s just catching up to us now,” she said.

As for the next steps, at the June 8 regular meeting of the district’s board of directors, they will receive more accurate numbers from PFM and will vote to approve the following: TRAN (Tax and Revenue Anticipation Notes): Short-term debt securities issued by local governments or schools to manage cash flow gaps; a defeasance; and a long-term borrowing solution. The board will also vote on a final budget.

Other motions passed:

• Motion to approve minutes from the April 13, 2026, Combined Meeting and the April 23, 2026, Special Meeting.
• Motion to approve the 2026-2027 Lawrence County Career and Technical Center Budget in the amount of $8,248,626, an increase of $364,095.00 but no increase to the per student fee. (Board Directors Jean Biehls, Gray, and Tomon voted “No.”)
• Motion to approve the PA School Boards Association (PSBA) Standard Membership package for the 2026-27 school year at a cost of $12,686.89.
• Motion to approve the 2024-25 Audit report as presented by Peter Vancheri of Hosack, Specht, Muetzel, & Wood, LLP during the public Finance Committee Meeting held on April 23, 2026, at 6:00 p.m.
• Motion to approve Medical Insurance Premiums with the Allegheny County School Health Insurance Consortium (ACSHIC) for the 2026-2027 school year with a a rate increase of 8.3% for the medical and prescription benefits.
• Motion to approve the purchase of Mystery Science as a science resource aligned to the STEELS Standards for grades K-4 at a cost of $5,540.
• Motion to approve the purchase of OpenSciEd as a science resource aligned to the STEELS Standards for grades 5-12 at a cost of $10,457.50.
• Motion to approve the purchase of Discovery Ed Experience as a social studies resource for grades K-12 at a cost of $3,960.
• Motion to approve Change Order GC-17 #4506 for installation of drywall in the amount of $21,579.54.
• Motion to approve an agreement/addendum for Voytik Construction to be the Clerk of the Works for the North Side Primary project at a cost of $7,500.00 per month summer 2026 phase only.
• The Ellwood City Board of School Directors hereby authorizes HHSDR to obtain value engineering deduct pricing and execute deduct change orders for the following contracts for the following items:
  • General Contract – Fred L. Burns – Deduct from contract the determined value of the Base Bid parking lot paving, and site work, Alternate Bid G-2 multi-purpose room flooring, Alternate Bid G-3 Loading Dock construction, and Alternate Bid #4 Front Entrance stone restoration, and cleaning.
  • Plumbing Contract – Renick Brothers Construction Company – Deduct from the contract the determined value of the Alternate Bid P-1 Classroom sink fixture replacement, and Alternate Bid P-2 replacement of selected plumbing fixtures.
• The Ellwood City Board of School Directors hereby authorizes HHSDR to obtain value engineering deduct pricing for further consideration in all contracts including but not limited to: The Base Bid grease interceptor replacement and base bid wash basin fixtures within the Plumbing Contract, as well as any further scope of work that can be considered for deduction in the other prime contracts. Deduct proposals will be requested from each contractor and figures reviewed against the detailed cost breakdown as well as costs incurred by the contractors to date. These proposals will be presented for approval to the Ellwood City Board of School Directors at a future meeting in the form of a deduct change order to each contract individually.
• Motion to appoint Mrs. Erica Gray as Treasurer for the school district for the 2026-27 school year beginning July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 in accordance with Section 404 of the School Code of Pennsylvania that requires the school directors annually, during the month of May, appoint a treasurer to serve for a one year term beginning the first day of July.
• Motion to approve the following secondary 2026 summer school teachers as follows:
  • Melissa Pigza – Language Arts
  • Dave Braymer – Math
  • April Thellman – Health
  • Scott Timmerman – Science
  • Todd Maggi – Social Studies
• Motion to approve Sierra Denholm as the ESY teacher this year.
• Motion to approve Department Heads for the 2026-27 school year as follows:
  LHS
  • Melissa Pigza – English
  • Kevin Dimeo – Math
  • Amanda Long – Foreign Language
  • Mike Lamenza – Phys Ed
  • Tracy Craig – Fine Arts
  • Todd Maggi – Social Studies
  • Scott Timmerman – Science
  • Cindi Friello – Tech
  • Tina Emerick – Special Ed
• Motion to approve the following resignations:
  • Paul Pishioneri, Director of Facilities Management, for the purpose of retirement effective August 13, 2026.
• Motion to approve the following resignations
  • John DiBuono as the Unified Bocce Coach at the end of the 2025-26 school year.
  • Lilliana Scrima, Perry cafeteria worker, effective May 15, 2026.
• Motion to approve three FMLA leave requests in accordance with the Family Medical Leave Act and Policy 335.
• Motion to approve the following student teacher placements from Slippery Rock University for the fall semester of the 2026-27 school year:
  • Thea Angelica Angeles – LHS Melissa Pigza from August 26, 2026 – December 10, 2026
  • Brooke Jordan – LHS Lee Caldwell from October 20, 2026 – December 10, 2026.
• Motion to approve Jennifer Cassandro as a substitute nurse.
• Motion to approve Lydia Kingston, Hartman Instructional Aide, for a leave of absence for the fall of 2026-27 to complete her student teaching requirement.
• Motion to approve the Kelly Education Agreement.
• Approve the Athletic Director Contract for additional three years.
• Motion to approve the following facility requests:
  • Ellwood City Arts Crafts and Food Festival Committee to use the Helling Stadium and High School Baseball Field for the annual fireworks display for Sunday, July 5, 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
  • EC Little Wolverines is requesting Helling Stadium, including the press box, sound system, restrooms and snack shack for Flag, Pee Wee, and Midget home football games for approximately 6 hours (time to be determined) on the following dates at the Athletic Directors discretion pending varsity sports schedules:
    • August 7, 2026 (for pictures) with rain date of August 14. 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
    • September 5, 2026
    • September 19, 2026
    • October 3, 2026
    • October 24, 2026
    • October 31, 2026
• Motion to approve the following field trips/social events:
  • Class of 2030 to go to Kennywood Park on May 21, 2026. The bus would leave at 9:00 a.m. and return at approximately 7:00 p.m.
• Motion to approve the Transportation Contract with the Portersville Christian School for the 2026-27 school year at a cost of $148.50 per day for a total of $26,878.50 per year shared with the Riverside Beaver County School District, an $814.50 increase from last year. In addition, this year there is an excessive fuel cost rider cap of $6.00. In the event of a diesel fuel price increase (i.e. greater than $6.00) the district would reimburse Portersville Christian School 50% of that increase.
• Motion to approve that Policy #246 School Wellness be acknowledged as reviewed and incorporated into the minutes of this evening’s meeting to comply with federal regulations for schools participating in the National Lunch Program.
• Motion to approve the agreement with Longmore Academy for the 2026-27 school year.
• Motion to approve the 2026-27 Glade Run Academy (formerly Glade Run Lutheran Services) Agreement.
• Motion to approve a memorandum of understanding between the district and the Ellwood Area Education Associations to clarify the phrase “school year” used in Appendix B (17) (Early Retirement Incentive) to mean the period from July 1st through June 30th of any given school year.
• Motion to approve the revised Law Enforcement Memorandums of Understanding between the ECASD and Ellwood City Borough and Pennsylvania State Police that were presented and approved at last month’s meeting in accordance with Safe Schools Requirements.
• Motion to Support of PA House Bill 41 which allows the PIAA to make changes to the current state playoff format in regard to non-boundary schools.
• Motion to authorize the administration to work with stakeholders to develop policies and procedures for the implementation of a cell phone and personal electronic device restriction of use during the school day, with the intent of adoption and implementation beginning in the 2026-2027 school year.
• Motion to allow Danielle Woodhead, past board member, to present a diploma to her child at the 2025-26 commencement ceremony.