The School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington said the district faces potentially falling off a financial cliff without increased funding.
Watlington presented the district’s budget to the school board on Thursday, March 27, 2025. He said the district is spending more money than it's getting from the state, and the COVID relief money it's gotten in the last few years is going away.
Philadelphia is the only school district in Pennsylvania that cannot raise its own revenue.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
"We really are taking a very fiscally sound approach to our budgeting and making sure that we are not growing the budget, but we're working within the anticipated revenues," said Watlington.
The district has a plan to handle the deficit this year, using $35 million from its fund balance, but the hole will become more significant next year.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
