Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt yesterday estimated that the district has eliminated most of the "structural deficit" he inherited upon taking over the district in August 2005.

Mr. Roosevelt said $33 million in cuts and additional revenues from the state and other sources, including local foundations, have helped reduce the gap from about $50 million two years ago to about $20 million today.

Structural deficit refers to the district's persistent inability to balance revenues and expenses. Mr. Roosevelt said the challenge of closing the gap is heightened each year by higher costs for health insurance and other items.

"I think we've done three-fifths of the hard work of getting ourselves to a truly balanced budget," he said.

The school board Wednesday adopted a 2008 general fund budget of $526.6 million. The budget holds the line on taxes, and Mr. Roosevelt noted 2008 spending is $2.4 million less than this year and $7 million less than 2006.

But the adopted budget does not reflect possible raises or other costs that could be incurred through new labor contracts with six bargaining units. Negotiations with the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, which represents three bargaining units, continue today.

Because revenues will total only $507.3 million, the district will take $19.3 million from its reserve fund to balance the adopted budget. The $19.3 million is the structural deficit that Mr. Roosevelt cited.

At the end of 2008, the district will have about $47.7 million left in the fund. Mr. Roosevelt said elimination of the structural deficit would protect the reserve fund from annual raids.

"It means spending what you take in, so the reserve fund would be a reserve," he said.

The district anticipates collecting only $78,000 in voluntary payments next year from nonprofit groups exempt from property taxes. The district had budgeted $104,000 in nonprofit payments this year but took in $145,500 through Nov. 30.

The district received about $4.6 million from nonprofits in 2004, $1.4 million in 2005 and about $340,000 last year. District spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said a 1997 law that better defined public charities has made it more difficult to extract voluntary contributions from nonprofit groups.

The city hopes to collect a much higher amount, $4.3 million, from nonprofits next year. But Ms. Pugh said the city provides police protection and other services that the school district does not provide.

Two years ago, some district officials feared that the financial and academic problems could bring a state takeover of the district. That fear has lessened as the district embarked on a school-closing plan and took other measures to cut costs and improve academics.

Mr. Roosevelt said it won't be easy to eliminate the rest of the deficit. The 2008 budget includes the elimination of 37 positions district-wide, and Mr. Roosevelt said school-based budgets will face additional scrutiny.

The school board Wednesday authorized spending as much as $500,000 for two additional consultants to work on designs for new schools configured for grades six through 12. The board also adopted a capital budget of $41.7 million for additions, renovations and maintenance at various school buildings.