A draft of the preliminary 2017-18 budget shows a more than $6 million deficit for the Butler School District.

Deborah Brandstetter, director of business services, said this version shows the “worst case scenario,” a situation where nothing is cut from the budget.

Total revenue for the district is estimated at $102.6 million in the draft. Though this is an increase of more than $2 million, the change isn’t quite as significant as it was in the transition between the 2015-16 and the 2016-17 budget, in which revenue increased by more than $3 million.

However, as revenue climbs, expenditures continue to increase, too, but at a faster rate. The draft shows that revenue would increase by 2.5 percent, while expenditures grow 4.2 percent.

Total expenditures in the 2016-17 budget are $104.3 million, but that will increase to nearly $109 million in 2017-18 if nothing is cut.

With $5.8 million remaining in the general fund, following the 2015-16 budget, which drained the previous $10 million balance by $4.2 million because of a deficit, the board would be forced to make cuts or raise taxes above the index for the upcoming year.

Nina Teff, board president expects to reduce expenses, but hopes to avoid cutting programs, recognizing that can have adverse effects. Board members discussed the possibility that program cuts could cause students to leave the district.

“This is the first time we’ve seen this (budget),” she said, explaining that the board will discuss what to cut later.

Some of the largest expenditures for 2017-18 are retirement contributions, which increase by nearly $1.4 million, and health insurance, which increases 7.5 percent.

Other expenditures could include equipment.

“There’s a lot of high dollar equipment that we’ve been pushing off year after year,” Brandstetter said.