JACKSON TWP — Seneca Valley School District directors Tuesday approved a nearly $140 million budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, but without any increases to the real estate tax rate.

While the school board expects a shortfall of about $7.9 million between revenue and expenditures, the district will make up for that with its savings rather than any millage increase.

“We know these are difficult times for our families, so we are pleased to pass a budget with no increased financial obligation to our constituents,” board President Jim Nickel said. “We were able to accomplish this, in part, due to the long-range planning we've undertaken in the district for the last decade or more.”

The budget projects $132.1 million in revenue, the lowest the district has either budgeted for or actually received since the 2017-2018 academic year. The upcoming 2020-2021 budget will also be the third consecutive year in which the district's fund — essentially, its savings account — has dropped.

All three sources of the district's revenue — from local, state and federal funding — are projected to drop. In the 2020-2021 budget, earned income tax is projected to drop more than 20 percent from the 2019-2020 budgeted amount, and other sources — such as delinquent earned income tax, facility rentals and activity and athletic fees — are also expected to marginally decrease.

Seneca Valley further expects a $1 million pitfall in state transportation subsidies, though other state revenue streams make the state revenue drop just $600,000 from the 2019-2020 budget. The district projects a 32 percent decrease in federal funding from a variety of sources.

While directors expected a drop in revenue, they did not make any drastic cuts to the district's expenditures. Many dips in expenses are related to instruction, though about $50,000 less is allocated toward “other instructional programs” in 2020-2021 than in the past year, and expenditures on administration is expected to be $200,000 lower in the next year.

It was not immediately evident what the “other instructional programs” are.