BUTLER TWP — Taxes for Butler Area School District will officially not increase in the next year thanks to the unanimous approval of the district’s finalized budget Monday, July 9.

The district’s budget will see a 2.44% increase, from about $114.9 million in revenues and expenditures to about $117.7 million. Its passage finalizes the tax rate at 109.64 mills for the next school year — no increase compared to this year.

Superintendent Brian White thanked district employees who worked on the budget before its approval.

“There was a lot of team effort to get the budget to where we have it at right now,” White said at the meeting. “So, thank you to everyone for your work and help on that.”

When the budget was presented in May, White said he had three priorities in mind when helping create the budget: students’ needs, avoiding a tax increase and avoiding furloughs on staff. Avoiding furloughs was a new priority of White’s after recognizing how much losing experienced staff truly costs.

“I just read a study, and the cost of replacing a teacher, when you factor in all the professional development for someone who’s been in a classroom for three to five years … the replacement value is somewhere near $20,000 to $25,000,” White told the board in May.

According to the 2025-26 proposed budget summary, the biggest increases in expenditures come from employee benefits and miscellaneous services, with both increasing by about $2.5 million. Salary expenses remained relatively similar for the district compared to this year, with the overall number increasing just over $200,000.

Two of the biggest cuts to expenses come from equipment and supplies, with the district expecting to spend $3.6 million on supplies and $389,000 on equipment next year, compared to spending $4 million on supplies and $871,000 on equipment this year.

During the presentation, White said to avoid any miscalculations, they designed the district’s budget under the assumption that the state’s proposed budget would not pass as proposed, instead predicting a smaller increase.

As for federal funding, it has made up less and less of the district’s revenue source each year. During the 2023-24 school year, federal funding supplied $5.15 million, or 4.45% of revenue. Now, the district estimates $2.9 million, or 2.47% of revenue, for 2025-26.

Since there has not been any indication of a state or federal budget resolution in the past month, the board moved forward with the exact same numbers as proposed.

“The state does not have a budget and there’s no real sign of that happening,” White said at the June meeting. “The federal government has no sign of a budget resolution either.”

While the district was focused on a balanced budget without a tax increase, capital projects are still slated for the upcoming year. According to the May presentation, some focal points include roofs, bathrooms, HVAC in large spaces, security cameras and lighting.