PORTAGE — Only a few hours after the state House of Representatives passed the state’s budget and sent it to the state Senate for a vote, Portage Area Superintendent Pete Noel said he hopes the budget impasse may soon be over.

According to Noel, there are 35 school districts from Cambria, Blair, Somerset and Bedford counties in the Appalachia Intermediate Unit 8.

IU8 officials surveyed school administrators to investigate the budget impasse’s impact on the four-county region.

Of the districts that responded, Noel said one school district has already borrowed $5.8 million to keep things running. Three more districts in the IU8 will run out of funds this month, another three in November and an additional 10 in December, he said.

Portage Area has enough funding to sustain operations until December, said business administrator Jeff Vasilko, adding he plans to meet with a representative from 1st Summit Bank to prepare for the possibility that the budget does not pass the Senate before then.

“I think it’s prudent that we set up something now,” Vasilko said, noting Portage Area’s expenses total about $1.4 million per month. “If the budget passes, great. We don’t need anything. We have enough money until December and then we’ll be out. So it’s good to set up something just in case.”

Noel said he doesn’t know how many districts responded to the IU8’s survey, but the IU8 projects that these districts will have to borrow about $49 million to make ends meet.

When you think about that from an interest perspective, it’s about $2.4 million in interest payments the districts will lose out on, he said.

“That’s a lot of education that we can provide for $2.4 million,” Noel said during Wednesday’s school board meeting. “Hopefully this gets passed. ”

During the meeting, the board accepted Troy Eppley’s resignation as the district’s special education director — a position the board gave permission to advertise for.

Although Eppley’s resignation was effective Sept. 26, he attended Wednesday’s meeting and thanked school officials for his time at the district.

Eppley said it’s been “honestly an honor to serve the students, families and staff” of Portage from the beginning.

“I’ve always felt a very strong sense of pride that this community holds for its schools and it’s been a privilege to work alongside such dedicated teachers, staff and administrators,” Eppley said. “I’m truly grateful for the relationships built and the opportunities I’ve had here both personally and professionally.”

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.