SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Twenty-six of 27 school districts falling under Midwestern Intermediate Unit 4’s coverage area approved their operating budget for 2025-26. Slippery Rock Area School District’s board did not.

Members voted on Monday, April 28, to reject the operating budget. Eight of nine school board members voted against, while Leslie Colosimo abstained. Board members claimed concerns did not relate to an increase in costs, but rather due to a lack of a presentation on the budget.

“I would love to have in writing why the IU chose not to present the budget like they normally do,” board member Mark Taylor said during discussion.

Wayde Killmeyer, the executive director of the intermediate unit, said he was disappointed to hear about the school board’s rejection, as rejections usually come from a “misconception or misunderstanding” of the budget. He also addressed concerns over lack of a presentation.

“If we are requested to be there, we make every effort to be there,” he said. “Usually, we get a lot of advanced notice. We had about three days notice this time, and neither the business manager nor I were free that evening.”

Killmeyer said he underwent surgery this week and was undergoing preparations in the days before. He said he communicated that absence with superintendent Alfonso Angelucci prior to the meeting.

The board said their primary concern, however, lies in the approval of the budget by the intermediate unit before the school board’s vote.

As for the approval of the budget prior to the school board meeting, Killmeyer attributed it to a “quirk” of the calendar, where the MIU4 meeting, scheduled for the fourth Wednesday of the month, came before the Slippery Rock school board meeting on the fourth Monday of the month.

“There was nothing malicious,” he said. “We would have loved to have had Slippery Rock’s vote before the IU board had voted. If Slippery Rock had voted in February or March or earlier in April, they absolutely would’ve been counted with the rest.”

Ultimately, Killmeyer said he promised Angelucci and the board that both issues would not repeat in the future.

“Although I’m disappointed, I’m certainly not angry,” Killmeyer said. “They wanted to make a statement, and we hear it loud and clear.”

A intermediate unit is an educational service agency that provides services that school districts may find difficult or impossible to provide alone. The biggest service offered by MIU4 is special education, with a focus on early intervention for 3 to 5-year-olds.

Some other services offered include itinerant special needs providers, such as a speech therapist who travels between schools; and curriculum, instruction and assessment services that focuses on comprehensive educational reform.

The operating budget for an intermediate unit does not work the same as a school board. Each school has a designated “weight” determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which affects the impact of its vote as well as its funding contribution to the unit.

Killmeyer compared the system to the electoral college, as when the budget reaches a certain number of weighted votes, it is considered passed by the districts. He said he is aware of other intermediate units that do not wait for all districts to vote, but MIU4 tries to do so.

While the total operating budget has increased from last year, he said the contribution for districts only slightly fluctuates, but has not increased as a whole in decades.