The Panther Valley School Board is already looking forward to the next budget cycle for 2025-26 school year, and how it can use some of the anticipated increases in state funding.

The district expects a $2.4 million budget surplus for 2025-26, Jesse Walck, business manager, said last week.

That amount comes from $3.37 million in increased state funding next year, less an estimated budget shortfall of $975,000.

The shortfall stems from contractually-obligated salary increases and the loss of a one-time revenue boon from a health insurance change last year, Walck said.

That $2.4 million surplus isn’t enough to build a new school, he said.

“However, it is enough to do projects and fix things that badly need to be fixed,” Walck said. “We’ve needed the money for a long time, and we finally have it. We want to get stuff done with it.”

One of the projects on the district’s radar is a solar field, and the McClure Company, which deals with sustainable energy solutions, spoke to the board during its committee meetings, Walck said.

The federal government is offering a minimum 40% reimbursement on solar projects, but the reimbursement could be as high as 60%, he said.

The state also put in its budget $25 million toward a 50% reimbursement for solar projects, but the number of projects that will be funded is limited, Walck said.

The board reviewed estimated project costs between $1.25 million and $2.1 million. The board will likely act on authorizing the firm to review building sites and provide actual project costs when it meets later this month, he said.

“It makes a lot of sense,” Walck said. “This would offset power usage for (the intermediate) building and the high school. It’s a no brainer.”

Other projects include a new maintenance and storage building, which the board has discussed in the past. The district not only has a lack of classroom space, but also storage space, preventing it from ordering supplies in bulk and saving money, Walck has said.

A maintenance/storage building could cost between $545,000 and $850,000, he said. It could be sited near the district administration building.

The board and administration has also discussed replacing the septic tank at the bus garage at a cost between $6,000 and $10,000, and painting the bleachers at the stadium, which could cost up to $125,000, which would be outsourced, Walck said.

Much of the work the board discussed involves improvements in the high school auditorium, which needs new lights and audio, issues with a movable wall, repairs to the stage, overall auditorium renovations and stage curtains.

More than half the costs are pending quotes or estimates, while just the lights, sound and stage could cost upward of $300,000.

The board also discussed revamping the wrestling room, Walck said, but this work is dependent on other projects.