KARNS CITY — The Karns City School District budget for the 2016-17 school year has a deficit of just $12,700 and includes a property tax increase.

The board voted June 20 to approve the $23.2 million budget.

It includes a property tax increase for all three counties in the district: Butler, Armstrong and Clarion.

The tax increase in Butler is 2.02 mills, increasing to 89.12 from 87.1 mills. This is close to the maximum increase allowed by the state, according to Superintendent Eric Ritzert.

The district’s average assessed value of a house in Butler County is $11,716, meaning the average tax payment this school year is $1,017, which will increase to $1,044 in 2016-17.

The average taxpayer increase is about $25 for Butler County property owners, according to Deana Turner, director of business affairs.

More than 65 percent of the budget goes for the 161 employees’ salaries and benefits, including 114 teachers.

Outsourced professional services make up another 25 percent of the budget.

An elementary teacher and an elementary learning support teacher who retired after the 2015-2016 school year will not be replaced due to declining enrollment, Turner said. That will save about $200,000 in salary and benefits.

Of the district’s $23.2 million, about $6.3 million comes from local property taxes, said Turner. Total local revenue, including the property tax, is projected to be $7.5 million. Another $15.4 million will come from the state.

Any expenses beyond the incoming revenue for 2016-17 would be taken out of the reserve fund balance, at $4.4 million.

“I’m comfortable with taking that (deficit) out of the fund balance if we need to,” Ritzert said.

With a projected deficit of about $13,000, Turner said the fund balance is not expected to drop significantly.

The district was able to minimize its costs this year through “a lot of belt tightening,” Turner said.

“We just try to be as accurate as possible. There’s no padding in here,” Turner said.