Pleasant Valley School District’s long-range plans show the district may need to increase taxes to avoid a deficit.

For seven years, Pleasant Valley did not increase taxes to cover the operating costs of the district. The long-range five-year projection released by the Finance Committee last week shows that the new trend might be to increase taxes yearly.

At the last board meeting, board President and finance Chairman Len Peeters presented a general fund chart, which showed two possible scenarios through 2024.

“I am providing information for the start of the budget process,” Peeters said. “It is too early to project the actual budget at this time. This is just a projection based on the final budget and trends.”

The chart shows that if the trends continue into the future, as in the recent past years, the district’s General Fund will be operating in the red for the next few years.

Peeters provided two charts. The first projecting no tax increase over the next five years. The projected revenues for 2024 are estimated at $104.9 million with estimated expenses of $119.1 million, netting a $10.6 million deficit after factoring in proposed initiatives.

If the district were to pass a 2-mill increase yearly over the same time period, the deficit drops to $9.4 million based on the projections.

As Peeters said, this is only a rough estimate based on past performance and current trends.

In the past, the district has controlled costs through downsizing, both in the number of buildings and by not replacing staff positions whenever possible.