Moniteau proposes 2026-27 budget with 4-mill tax hike
CHERRY TWP — Taxpayers in the Moniteau School District may have to pay slightly more to send their children to school next year.
The nine-member school board approved the advertisement of a proposed budget for the district’s 2026-27 year during its monthly work session Monday night, May 11.
It would include an increase of the district’s tax rate from 101.38 mills to 105.38, which would generate an additional $280,683. Earned income tax revenue is also expected to increase by $75,000.
Even with the tax hike, if the budget is approved, the school district would operate at a deficit of $2,363,853. The proposed budget, which was presented by business manager Austin Blauser on Monday night, anticipates expenditures of $27,127,628 against revenues of only $24,763,775.
“Obviously, it’s hard to run any business, let alone a school district, that has a deficit year after year after year,” Blauser said.
According to Blauser’s presentation, the school district will make do by pulling from its fund balance. However, he said this strategy has its limits, as the school district has run on a deficit since the 2024-25 school year. Coincidentally, 2024-25 marked the end of ESSER funding, a pandemic-era emergency financial aid initiative for schools.
“That was just north of $1 million a year we were getting from the pandemic-era money,” Blauser said. “Obviously, that hits hard the first year that’s removed.”
Blauser estimates that if current trends continue, the fund balance — which held over $8 million in July 2024 — will run dry by the 2029-30 school year.
“The fund balance is going to help us, but obviously it’s not sustainable in the long term,” Blauser said. “Eventually that’s going to run out. Obviously over the next couple of years, there's going to have to be some tough conversations. We're going to have to make changes. We can’t run at a deficit year after year.”
A series of factors led to the decision to propose a 4-mill tax increase, including last year’s state budget impasse which saw Pennsylvania operate without a new budget until November. This deprived school districts of vital revenue.
“Obviously, it had a huge impact on us financially,” Blauser said. “I’m estimating we lost anywhere from $40,000 to $50,000. It’s hard for us to create a school budget if we don’t even know what we’re getting from the state.”
Another contributing factor to the budget deficit, according to Blauser, is the number of cyber charter students within the district. As of May 2026, there are 46 children within the Moniteau area who are attending a cyber charter school.
In Pennsylvania, school districts make payments to cyber schools to educate any students within the district who choose to attend them. According to Blauser, the average payment for each cyber student is $17,258 for regular education, and $32,289 for special education.
“It can get very expensive when you have 46 of them,” Blauser said.
The approval of the proposed budget is expected to be voted on at the next school board meeting on Monday, June 15.
