BUTLER TWP — Brian White, Butler Area School District’s superintendent, said Monday, March 10, that his district’s graduation rate is expected to increase by 4.5% in 2025.

This would bring Butler’s graduation rate up to around 88% for the 2024-25 academic year.

“We had a great change this year in the graduation rate,” White said. “We have to report in every year, and we had a nice increase. I attribute it to a lot of the work that is going on down at the high school with our teachers.”

This news comes as the school board reviews its graduation requirements and prepares for this year’s class of seniors to exit the school district.

White previously said at a January school board meeting that last year’s graduation rate was around 83.5%. At the time, the school board said it was looking to continue improving various data points while the graduation rate continued to recover post-pandemic.

“Our student performance, prior to the pandemic, was very strong. It was very strong. It has not recovered since the pandemic,” White said in January.

Pre-COVID graduation rates for the district hovered in the upper 80- to lower 90% range, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Butler Area School District’s senior class will graduate June 6.