School Board Votes to Explore Mid-Range Tax Increase

Southern Lehigh School Board members voted Monday evening to look at mid-range tax increases to help close the district's budget gap. 

School board members stayed mostly silent during the hourlong presentation by members of the Budget and Finance Committee. The committee presented three scenarios: 

• A zero-tax-increase option, which meant looking at budget cuts of approximately $1.35 million this year for a total of $7.9 million over the next five years
• A mid-level tax increase (this year equaling $47 per household), which meant the board would need to look for an additional $680,000 in cuts this year for a total of $5.2 million over the next five years.
• A tax increase at the Act 1 limit placed on the district (this year equaling $70 per household), which meant the board would need to look for an additional $150,000 in cuts this year for a total of $3.1 million over the next five years

In addition to the scenarios, budget cuts with impact rankings were presented. The impact rank of zero to three represented the impact to students. Potential cuts with no or a low impact include moving the district to a Voice over IP (VOIP) phone system, and using a floor cleaning robot to reduce shifts and increase savings as custodial staff retires.

Higher impact cuts could include reducing buses for subdivisions near the HS/MS/IS area, making sports "pay to play" in high school, and reassigning Lower Milford Elementary School to a kindergarten or closing the facility. 

After a roll-call vote, the board voted for the administration to explore a mid-level increase over the next five years. The board voted as follows:

Name           Vote                                 Comments

Dorothy Mohr

Act 1 Limit Increase

 "After looking at the difference between a $47 increase and a $70 increase, I vote for the Act 1 Limits"

Jeff Dimmig

No Tax Increase

Corrinne Gunkle

Act 1 Limit, Later changed to mid-level increase

“I just can’t justify any more than $3 million in cuts” (when voting for Act 1 Limits)"

Bill Hayes

Mid-Level Increase

Dr. Tom McLaughlin

Mid-Level Increase

Bill Lycett

Mid-Level Increase

Dr. Elizabeth Stelts

Mid-Level Increase

James Lindsay

No Tax Increase

John Quigley

No Tax Increase

“I will continue my 12 year trend of no tax increases"

This is just the first step, says superintendent Leah Christman. "Now we will begin looking at different budget options to present. We won't finalize the budget till much closer to the end of the fiscal year."

The board's direction will help move the conversation back to where it needs to be, says Christman. "[The budget crisis] is what it is. The time and energy we are using to trying to balance the budget is time we take away from educating our children. We need to get back to focusing on helping prepare our kids for their future."