Tamaqua Area School Board may consider a tax anticipation loan if Pennsylvania’s budget impasse continues.

Business Manager Connie Ligenza on Tuesday told board members that the district continues to see a negative trend on revenues — mostly driven by the lack of subsidies from the state Department of Education.

September’s revenue numbers are $3.9 million less than the previous year, she said. Revenues were $19 million last year at this time, as opposed to $15.1 million this year, Ligenza said.

“We’re showing 36% collected versus almost 48% last year,” she said. “This is purely driven by the lack of subsidy coming from PDE from the budget impasse.”

There was recent movement by the state House in the form of a bill that is close to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal, Ligenza said. This version would give Tamaqua Area an additional $50,000 above what was anticipated, she said.

Board Vice Chair Nicholas Boyle asked if that increase came from adequacy funding, or the funding to bolster the state’s poorest school districts stemming from the fair funding lawsuit.

Ligenza said that the adequacy funding remained the same as in the governor’s budget with Tamaqua seeing $1.45 million. The additional $50,000 was not part of this funding, she said.

Board President Larry Wittig asked about the district’s cash flow, given the budget impasse.

“We’re OK through the end of the calendar year,” Ligenza said. “But if we do not have a budget in place by then, we have to look to a tax revenue anticipation loan.”

Ligenza wanted to bring this to the board’s attention now, because they’re going to need a 30-day window to move forward with a loan, she said.

“I’m really trying to hold out,” Ligenza said, because of the additional fees involved in a loan.

Boyle believed that the budget impasse may be resolved by next week.