Easton Area School Board set on 3.5% tax hike to support new high school, avoid deeper cuts

EASTON, Pa. — Easton Area School District residents may have to pinch some pennies for a prospective tax increase in the 2025-26 budget, but officials said the bump is much milder than it could have been.

The board pushed the $214,105,899 final General Fund Budget forward at Tuesday evening’s meeting with the 3.5% tax increase still standing.

But administrators and board members appeared pleased to make ends meet without dipping into the district's general fund.

The final budget is set for a vote at the board’s next meeting, set for June 25.

Schools Superintendent Tracy Piazza and board President Jodi Hess commended Chief Financial Officer Jack Trent on his work bridging the budget gap faced by the district, which originally showed a $7 million deficit.

At the same time, EASD has pursued plans for a new high school priced at $298 million, which raised concerns among some residents about more drastic tax increases.

Trent said the 3.5% overall increase includes just a bit over 1.5% to go to the surplus that ultimately will help fund the high school project via the bond purchasing process.

That figure amounts to $3.3 million for the high school.

Locking down the funds now is integral to keeping the district functioning while funding the new school, he said.

“We need to have that extra money, so that the increases aren't going to be 4 percent or 5 percent or something," Trent said. "That’s why we’re doing it.”

Trent said the district’s financial advisers pushed the concept to avoid more substantial spikes in the near future.

'Produce an even budget'

Overall, the increase is not as drastic as in some other Lehigh Valley school districts, some of which — such as Whitehall-Coplay — are facing increases of more than 5% to address deficits.

Hess said Trent and the advisers “hit the ground running,” and in a time of uncertainty when it comes to federal funding and material costs for capital projects made significant accomplishments.

“I’m not thrilled to be raising taxes," Hess said. "It’s not something we want to do, but I do definitely think that right now, it’s really important to take that extra money to be able to do the high school.

"I don’t think a lot of people understand the disrepair that [the old high school] is in, and the money that we’ve already put into that building. Over the last five to 10 years, we’ve put millions of dollars into it.”

She said roof repairs alone have reached about $5 million.

According to Piazza, the budget will be the first in many years for which the district has not had to dip into its general fund balance to bridge a budget gap.

“That was a promise that I made to the board when I was trying to limp my way through doing that," Piazza said. "And so Jack was able to pull that off with everybody else who had to contribute to that effort.

"And that's my expectation for the rest of my term here, is that we produce an even budget."

No expectation of unanimous vote

Piazza said she still does not expect a unanimous vote on the matter.

“There will be a few board members who say ‘no’ based on the tax increases, and I respect that,” she said.

And while the increase is substantial compared to previous years — which largely fell around 2% — Piazza said the move is being conducted with intention and careful spending.

“As a taxpayer in this district as well, nobody likes to see their taxes go up," she said. "But we also can’t do a new project and move forward if we don't increase taxes as one of our largest funding bases.

“And so those who say ‘no,’ I certainly respect that and understand their reasoning and their support for their constituents, but I also recognize that they, too, want to see a new building.

"They would just like to see it without having to raise taxes. And certainly that's all of our goals, but it's an unrealistic one at this point in time for any school district."