The Butler Area School Board adopted a 2020-21 budget that holds the line on taxes, but projects declines in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $104 million budget the board unanimously approved Monday maintains the current real estate tax rate of 104.03 mills. A mill equals $1 in tax revenue for each $1,000 in a property's assessed value.

Revenue from real estate taxes was reduced to a projected $41.1 million from $42 million due to a decline in the assessed value of property in the district and an anticipated increase in delinquent tax payments due to COVID-19-related unemployment, said Nick Morelli, acting business manager.

“It's going to be a challenging budget due to COVID-19,” Morelli said.

Assessment appeals by commercial property owners led to the decline in assessed value from $445,940,917 in 2019-20 to $444,128,306 in 2020-21.

The Clearview Mall's assessment reduction from $3.4 million to $1.4 million, resulting in a decline of $200,000 in the district's assessed valuation, was the largest single reduction, Morelli said.

Earned income tax revenue is projected at $5.7 million, down from $5.8 million. Morelli said a lot of people are unemployed and unemployment compensation benefits are not taxable earnings by state and local municipalities.

Total revenue includes $52.3 million from local sources, including real estate, earned income and other taxes; $47.6 million from the state, including a $25.8 million basic education subsidy, a $4.6 million special education subsidy and a $3.1 million transportation subsidy.

The budget includes a $531,562 reserve, Superintendent Brian White said.

Spending includes $63.4 million for elementary and secondary instruction, $29.9 million for support services, $2.2 million for noninstructional services and $8.4 million in other financial uses, including interfund transfers and the fund reserve.