Tuesday night, the River Valley School Board gave tentative approval of the 2025-26 budget.
Board president Rick Harper said that the budget gap between expenditures and income was around $900,000. Board president Rick Harper said that the main problem is the funding formula in Governor Josh Shapiro’s budget was very unfair to rural schools, which has put River Valley in the position it’s in. He also acknowledged that the district has gone many years without any tax increases.
The board did not include any potential tax increases for this tentative budget, as they will continue to look at cuts and using the district’s fund balance to fill the gap. If a tax increase is needed, it will be presented next month.
The board tabled the acquisition of a golf training simulator at an amount not to exceed $65,000. Funds would come from the 2025-26 Safety and Security Grant and the bond budget. Harper said that it could also be used for the shooting sports teams as they practice skeet shooting, and can also be used for their school safety resource officers for training, but the board wanted more information on the purchase before it was approved.
