The Butler Area School Board on Tuesday adopted a $105.9 million budget that does not include a tax increase for the 2021-2022 fiscal year.

Board members unanimously voted in favor of the budget that maintains the current real estate tax millage at 104.03.

Revenue in the balanced budget includes $53.3 million from local sources, $48 million from the state and $4.5 million from the federal government.

The revenue from local sources includes $42 million from real estate taxes, $6.7 million from Act 511 taxes such as per capita and income taxes and $1.3 million from delinquent taxes.

State funding includes $27.7 million in basic education subsidies, $7.5 million in retirement contributions, $4.7 million for early intervention programs and $3.1 million in student transportation subsidies.

Expenditures include $44.1 million in salaries, $29.9 million in employee benefits, $16.6 million in purchased services, $7.3 million for other financing uses, $3.8 million in purchased professional and technical services and $800,000 in fund transfers.

The budget also includes a $15.5 million fund balance.

In other business, the board approved raising the student athletic fee by $10 to $85.

Superintendent Brian White said the increase is needed to cover rising costs of equipment and supplies. The fee does not pay for coach salaries, he said.

The board also approved a health and safety plan that has to be updated every six months for the school district to be eligible to receive Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding from the federal government.

The budget includes about $1.8 million in ESSER and ESSER II funding.

The plan does not require face masks to be worn when classes begin in August. The plan follows U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for physical distancing, cleaning and ventilation, hand washing, contact tracing, diagnostics, vaccinations, children with disabilities and communication with state and local health officials.

In addition, White said the senior high school redesign project is getting underway.

The project involves a series of meetings with staff, parents, business leaders and community members. The goal is to identify attributes that seniors should have upon graduation, and ways to prepare graduates for employment and post secondary education.