BUTLER TWP — The Butler Area School District board got a glimpse of a preliminary budget at a Monday meeting, which could include a deficit of around $781,000.

Superintendent Brian White said the district may have to raise taxes to accommodate this initial plan for the budget, which on Monday did not factor in some potential revenues and charges, like retirements and new hires or definitive numbers from the state budget.

The budget presented Monday included the maximum tax increase allotted to the school district by Act 1 of the state Department of Education, which is a 5.2% increase. The numbers listed in the preliminary budget, White said, accounted for the rise in utility and supply costs versus the dropping revenues attained by property tax assessments.

“If we raise taxes all the way up to the limit, that would generate $2.2 million,” he said. “I don’t want to reduce things, but I don’t want to raise taxes by 5.2%.”

The budget is not due until June 30, so White said he and administrators will be working on it likely up to that point. He said talks with the state legislature over the next budget could result in more funding going to school districts.

He also said some of the cuts made in Monday’s preliminary budget are items introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, when school districts received extra federal funding through bills like the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund.

“We have reduced some vacant things, but it does retain the bulk of replacing vacant positions,” White said. “There is a dramatic decrease in federal funding, compared with year under year. It’s almost $2 million less in federal funding.

“We are going to have to make tough choices.”

White said he will likely give an update on the budget planning in March, once more talks within state legislature unfold. He also said the school district has not raised taxes since 2019.

The school board also approved the course selection guides for the 2023-24 school year. In addition to revising four courses, the new guide adds four courses — advanced pre-algebra 8, leveled up cooking for grades 11 and 12, fisheries/aquatic science and AP world history.

The new guide also drops three courses — business multimedia communications, mobile app development, and vocabulary enrichment and test taking, with the aim to restore proficiency on the Keystone Literature Exam as a prerequisite for AP English Language, as opposed to being a recommendation, according to the guide summary.

Julie Hopp, director of curriculum, instruction and professional development, said the courses being eliminated are classes that have had low to no enrollment for at least a few years.