The School District of Lancaster is weighing a resolution of intent to furlough employees for the 2026-2027 school year as it grapples with a structural budget deficit and years of declining student enrollment.
The school board reviewed the resolution during a meeting on Tuesday (March 10), though no specific number of employees was mentioned. The board noted in its agenda a “strong desire to ultimately not have to implement some or all of the furloughs proposed.”
The resolution is not a snap reaction to a single crisis. CBS 21 News reports that the district’s communications director, Adam Aurand, said the move is a response to a long-building structural deficit. COVID relief funds expired last school year, and the district has exhausted its unassigned reserves. Although the district separately acknowledged a $10 million accounting error in its 2024-2025 budget, Aurand said that was a one-time issue addressed through measures like refinancing debt, drawing from reserves, and pausing after-school programs…