LEWISTOWN — The Mifflin County School District Board of Directors discussed projections for the district’s finances at their Thursday meeting.

Treasurer Melinda Kenepp led the discussion and noted that directors requested financial projections to plan ahead.

“We do have a projection platform that we use every month. I take the district’s actual financials, I dump them into a platform, and we look at where we think we’re going to wind up for the current year,” Kenepp said.

She added that the platform can assess the current year’s finances and project potential finances for the next five years.

Kenepp noted that the projections in her presentations are not a certainty and added that the district receives 57% of its revenue from the state. She added that the district officials do not know how much money they’re going to receive from the state until the state shares that information year by year.

Kenepp stated that for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 budgets, the district had a budgeted deficit but came out with a surplus. The 2023-24 budget had a $1,077,060 surplus, and the 2024-25 budget had a $1,812,573 surplus, due in part to the district’s conservative budgeting to avoid overshooting the budget.

She shared that the only revenue the district has control over is the revenue from real estate taxes.

Over the past decade, Mifflin County School District’s millage rate has increased by about 3%, which is lower than that of some neighboring districts, which recorded increases approaching 6%.

Kenepp’s financial presentation highlighted that the district’s years of conservative budgeting have positioned Mifflin County schools well in the present. Still, long-term financial sustainability may depend on continued state support, careful spending decisions, and limited opportunities for local revenue growth.