SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Parkland School District has finalized its budget for the upcoming school year.
Parkland School Board on Tuesday approved the final budget, which will take the millage rate from 16.30 mills to 17.12 mills, a 5% increase.
The average resident will pay about $200 more in school property taxes next year. The millage rate in Parkland still will be the lowest in Lehigh County.
At the meeting, the board also recognized many students for their accomplishments, such as Springhouse Middle School Science Olympiad’s fifth place finish in the national competition and all-state music winners.
Superintendent Mark Madson said the recognition shows the importance of the budget.
“People will ask what all those things might mean, and why do you do what you do and where are the results?" Madson said. "And if you’re here, it speaks for itself.
“For all the items that are in a budget, all the items that are on this agenda, really create the environment for which we can see the amazing results of our students.”
Even with the tax increase, the district still will have to take almost $4 million from its reserves, mostly because of the upcoming building projects in the district.
Parkland is in the process of building additions to its high school and Orefield Middle School to address increased enrollment.
It is also building a new operations center next to Orefield.
‘Point at them’
Laura Warmkessel, a former candidate for the school board, said she thinks a tax increase will be too much of a burden on residents, especially because the cost of living has gone up.
Warmkessel suggested the district cut costs by delaying plans to build a $19 million turf sports complex at the high school.
“I think it is a want, and I think it should be tabled maybe and a lot longer with this ridiculous inflation,” Warmkessel said.
Plans for the stadium still are preliminary, but pre-construction is slated to begin this year.
“Contact your state representatives and just ask them to please finish the job. They have a specific plan now, and they need to act on that.”Board Director Lisa Roth
Board Director Lisa Roth said the state legislature still has not passed a budget. It may increase funding to school districts, she said, but the district has to make a budget based on the current information it has.
Roth also said the district’s required funding to cyber charter schools has made it more difficult to balance the budget.
She said the cyber charters get more money than they need to operate and do not serve students well, as shown in their standardized test scores.
There is a plan in front of the legislature to reduce that required funding, which would have saved the district about a million dollars, Roth said.
“As people are often wanting to point fingers at everything, we need to remember to point at them,” Roth said.
“Contact your state representatives and just ask them to please finish the job. They have a specific plan now, and they need to act on that.”
