The Pottsville Area School Board is planning to hold the line on taxes for the 2014-15 school year.
In a unanimous vote Wednesday at its workshop at the Howard S. Fernsler Academic Center, the board gave tentative approval to a proposed budget of a $42,944,431 spending plan.
"I believe this will be our ninth year without a tax increase," board President John F. Boran said at the work session.
"Yeah!" board member Cindy Petchulis said with a breath of enthusiasm.
"Good job," board member Karen E. Rismiller said.
"The administration, business office and principal did great work," board Vice President Scott D. Krater said.
The millage rate is 34 mills, with one mill equivalent to $1 of tax on every $1,000 of taxable value. So a home with an assessed value of $100,000 pays $3,400 a year in property taxes to the district.
A draft of the budget will be on display for the public at the academic center during regular business hours.
The board plans to give final approval to the budget at its meeting at 7:30 p.m. June 18.
Business Manager Stephen C. Curran offered an analysis of the budget, detailing "significant points." Some of the points included:
- "The anticipated spending of $42,944,431 reflects an increase in expenditures of $2,539,843, or 6.29 percent, over the 2013-2014 projected budget of $40,404,588. Funding for the $42,944,431 in anticipating spending will come from projected local, state, federal revenues and the use of existing reserves. The projected revenues do not include a tax increase."
- "The current millage rate is 34 mills. The average in Schuylkill County is 37.5668. Our millage rate is 90.5 percent or the average. Under Act 1, districts are allowed to increase taxes by 2.1 percent, the index, or 0.714 mills. Districts with an aid ratio above 0.4000 are given a higher adjusted index. Our adjusted index is 3 percent. As mentioned previously, this budget does not include a tax increase."
- "Our total assessed values increased slightly from last year to $297,332,020 from $293,756,810. This amount multiplied by the millage rate yields $10,109,289 for our total real estate tax revenue levy. In June, this figure is then reduced by the property tax refund amount; therefore, using the collection rate of 90 percent, it reduces our estimated tax revenue to $8,468,486. This is the amount used for the budget line item for local real estate tax revenue."
- "Salaries and benefits account for roughly 71.17 percent of the total budget."
- "This budget includes state revenue from the proposed 'Ready To Learn Grant' in the amount of $483,901 as per the budget proposed by Gov. (Tom) Corbett."
The board tentatively adopted the budget Wednesday with a motion by board member Patrick F. Moran, which was seconded by Petchulis and carried with votes by Boran, Krater, Rismiller, and board members Christina M. DiCello and Linda Grube.
Absent from Wednesday's work session were board members Gary A. Cortese and Charles R. Wagner.
In other matters, the board rescinded a motion made April 16 to appoint Donna Bentz as high school guidance secretary.
"She declined the position," Curran said.
In response, the board accepted the resignation of Lisa Revenis as part-time library aide at Pottsville Area High School effective Wednesday and hired Revenis as a the full-time high school guidance secretary at an annual salary of $18,000.
The board accepted the resignations from two employees who intend to retire: Mark Shadler, the district's head mechanic, effective Aug. 1, and Mary Louise Buehler, a lunch aide at the middle school, effective the last day of school.