BUTLER TWP — The Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School’s 2025-26 budget was approved in a 48-13 vote by school board members tallied at the joint operating committee meeting on April 3.

Votes were cast by anonymous ballot.

The budget will see a total operating cost of $7,253,631 for the 2025-26 academic year, representing a 7.59% increase from the previous year. Salaries and employee benefits make up a combined 76.56% of the proposed budget.

The process of approving the vo-tech budget involved two significant steps: an approval by five of the seven participating school boards and approval by a majority of all individual school board members.

The budget began its process for approval in February, when committee members voted unanimously to send the then proposed budget to participating school boards. Regina Hiler, executive director of the vo-tech, presented the budget to school boards throughout February and March.

In total, five of the seven districts voted to approve the budget as a board, with the exception of Knoch and Seneca Valley School Districts.

On the individual ballot, school board members of Butler Area, Karns City Area, Mars Area, Moniteau and Slippery Rock Area school districts voted unanimously to approve the budget. Knoch School District split their vote 4-4 and Seneca Valley School District voted unanimously against.

After the votes were revealed, chairman John Conrad took a moment to address the committee. He raised concerns about the budget only receiving five of the seven schools and asked committee members to serve as a “conduit” of communication between the districts and the vo-tech.

“If there are issues that are concerning your school boards and they have concerns about how we are doing things and how we ought to do things, we need to discuss those issues,” Conrad said. “As a representative democracy, in which, yes, we have the authority to make decisions, we don’t want to go too far.”

For Hiler, knowing the budget is approved left her with three emotions: relief, excitement and a preparedness to begin the process anew for the 2026-27 budget.

In other business, the committee unanimously approved articulation agreements with PennWest California and the Community College of Allegheny County. This gives vo-tech students the opportunity to accrue college credits at those schools.

The agreement with CCAC includes additions to the current agreement for the health assistant program, as well as new inclusions for the culinary arts and cosmetology programs. The agreement with PennWest includes the sports medicine program.

The next vo-tech joint operating committee meeting is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 1.