The Pella School Board took their first look at the 2021 fiscal year budget at their meeting this week. Superintendent Greg Ebeling says overall, the district remains in good financial health and no budget reductions will be necessary when planning for the upcoming year. However, Ebeling says if the annual state aid increase from the Iowa Legislature comes in below two percent growth, he says that could accelerate another potential round of cuts that are currently projected to be four to five years out. Ebeling says the difficulty school districts face with finances is most have a three to four percent cost increase annually, through staff salary raises and maintenance and technology expenses rising with inflation