KARNS CITY — Fears that Pennsylvania’s state budget impasse will continue to drag on prompted the Karns City School District superintendent to say the district should think about searching for a line of credit in lieu of state money that may not appear on time.

“We’re not in immediate jeopardy, but I think it’s prudent behind the scenes to start exploring (options),” Superintendent Eric Ritzert told school board members Monday night.

Ritzert said that in the absence of state education subsidies, the district estimates it will have enough money in its fund balance — about $4.1 million — to fund itself through the end of January.

But by the end of December the district projects it will have used more than $3.1 million, leaving a little more than $1 million.

That $1 million would likely be enough to get the district through the end of January, Ritzert told board members, but a budget impasse that stretches into 2016 would mean the district needs to either finance its own operations, ask faculty and staff to work without pay, or close until it gets state money again.

“We’re caught in the middle,” Ritzert said. “This is a prudent step ... to protect ourselves.”

There was no information Monday night on how the district might begin to search for or get a line of credit. Ritzert said any search would include banks and “large financial institutions.”