The Panther Valley School District is looking at an $800,000 deficit going into the 2026-27 school year plus needs repairs to the junior-senior high school roof and a new gymnasium floor.

The school board got its first look at the proposed budget with $44.13 million in revenues and $44.93 million in expenditures earlier this month.

Roof repairs and a warped gym floor could further increase the deficit in the proposed spending plan, Superintendent Dave McAndrew said this week.

The district doesn’t know how much the roof repair will cost, as it is still awaiting quotes, he said. The gym floor, which the district hopes will be covered by insurance, could mean $250,000 out of pocket without the coverage, he said.

Panther Valley also got hit with a $280,000 increase in insurance premiums, along with a $770,000 increase in contractual obligations for teachers and support staff, including increased retirement contributions, McAndrew said.

Revenue includes $14,379,156 in local sources, $28,313,738 in state sources, and $1,449,848 in federal sources, he said.

“This is only a preliminary budget,” McAndrew cautioned. “This does not take into consideration any new money from the state. “We are also waiting to see how much additional money we get from the Homestead Reduction Act.

“We are doing all we can to limit any tax increase,” he said, adding that the district is always looking for additional funding sources.

The district has historically slashed expenses to compensate for the lack of funding, McAndrew said.

“At this point, we will continue to look for cuts, but to be honest, we have always cut so we have little room,” he said.

This budget also has no reserve set aside, McAndrew said.

“Meaning if a child moves into the district and needs a specialized school, we would possibly be over budget for this expense,” he said.

In recent years, the district has been seeing an increase in students with special education needs, which correlates to the socioeconomic factors in one of the poorest school districts in the state.

The school board is also trying to avoid increasing taxes, because the Panther Valley communities have already been hit hard this past year with utility increases, Dan Matika, board president, said this week.

“Everyone’s water and sewer have gone up dramatically. Garbage has gone up,” he said. “Every utility has gone through the roof. We’re not saying yes (to a tax increase), we’re not saying no, right now.

“There is a possibility we could have a small tax increase this year,” Matika said.

The district is dealing with the effects of a devastating winter that took a toll on the junior-senior high school roof with ice dams and leaks, he said.

“We work on roofs every year in those buildings. Flat roofs are just hard to maintain,” Matika said. “It’s like they’re not made to withstand the water. It’s how flat roofs are.”

The buckling gym floor is another unexpected expense but needed repair, he said.

“We can’t allow our kids to be playing on that for either gym or any kind of games in there, because the floor is buckling,” he said. “It’s a major safety issue.”

The district is also looking at the additional expenses related to contract obligations, an upcoming confidential employee contract and increased health care costs, Matika said.

He acknowledged that this year’s budget has challenges.

“It’s a rough one, but we’ll make it,” he said. “We always do more with less, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”