BUTLER TWP — Butler School Board will not raise property taxes and will finish next year with a surplus, district officials say.

The board Monday night voted unanimously to adopt the district's preliminary 2018-19 budget as presented by Superintendent Brian White.

The board also unanimously approved a resolution to approve full-day kindergarten and notify the state Department of Education of that change.

The spending plan includes $101.5 million in expenses and $102 million in revenue — a $515,000 surplus.

For the past four years, the school board has adopted spending plans that included more expenses than revenue. To cover the shortfall, the district used money from its fund balance, drawing it down from $12.7 million at the start of the 2014-15 school year to $6.6 million at the start of the 2017-18 school year.

Butler's millage rate under the budget will remain at 101 mills. Last year, the board adopted a $102.7 million budget that raised taxes 3.2 mills, furloughed teachers and called for the district to use about $1.4 million from its fund balance to balance its expenses and expenditures.

The district is projected to finish the 2017-18 fiscal year with $5.2 million in its fund balance, which is about 5 percent of the total budget — a self-imposed minimum the board set with its fund balance policy. The policy states that the district must maintain a fund balance of between 5 percent and 8 percent.

After the 2018-19 school year, the district is projected to have $5.75 million in its fund balance, which is about 5.7 percent.

The budget calls for the district to employ 472 teachers, reducing staff positions through attrition. This year the district has 486.5 teachers and it has been notified of 11 retirements, White said. No furloughs are expected.

The kindergarten plan also includes reducing the number of elementary reading specialists from 23 to 14 and increasing the number of kindergarten teachers from 12.5 to 23.

Board member Bill Halle, who voted against the budget last year, said he thinks the district is headed in a better direction now, with a new administration in place.

“We completely turned from where we thought we would be last year,” Halle said.

White shared a projection that anticipated the district's expenses eclipsing its revenue by the 2020-21 school year.

“I don't think you can go without raising taxes forever, but I do think there are opportunities for us to operate more efficiently,” he said of the district's long-term fiscal prospects.

The budget does not include capital projects. The district borrowed $9.7 million earlier this year through a bond issue for roof replacements and other repairs to its schools. The board will discuss several options for refinancing some of its debt next week, he said.

A final vote on the budget and tax rate will be taken before the end of June.