MORE: School board approves funding Northampton Area Public Library
NORTHAMPTON, Pa. — Northampton Area School Board on Monday approved a $140.7 million proposed budget, with a 4% tax hike.
School directors passed the proposed budget and school property tax increase in a 5-3 vote.
Directors Michael Baird, John Becker, Parker Flamisch, Ross Makary and Doug Vaughn voted in favor of the spending plan.
Board President Kristin Soldridge, along with school directors Joshua Harris and Brian McCulloch, voted against it.
Board Vice President Nathan Lichtenwalner was absent.
“I support a 4% tax increase. I think it’s the only way we can make sure we can move forward.”Doug Vaughn, Northampton Area School Director
“I support a 4 percent tax increase,” Vaughn said. “I think it’s the only way we can make sure we can move forward.”
Other school directors did not publicly address their voting choices.
If approved in the final June budget, the proposed 4% tax increase would bring the district’s millage rate to 58.52.
The tax hike would help raise $3.2 million in revenue, leaving the district with a remaining $555,867 deficit.
That deficit likely will be filled from the district’s fund balance — which will sit at $18 million by June.
With a 4% tax hike, the average taxpayer would see his or her annual property tax bill increase about $140 from the year before.
Some eligible homeowners would only see their tax bill increase $110.93. That’s taking into account a homestead deduction of $198.40 for properties participating in the program, which is funded through state gambling revenue.
There are 12,827 homesteads and 70 farmsteads in Northampton Area School District.
Spending cuts settled
Over the past five years, district residents have seen an average annual tax increase of 0.8%, resulting in an average $27.41 annual increase in their tax bills, according to a Monday presentation from the district administration.
The 2025-26 budget’s 4% tax increase would be the largest during that five-year period.
School directors approved a 0.2% tax increase last year. In 2022, they approved a 0.9% decrease.
The district’s proposed spending plan for the 2025-26 budget includes $270,000 allocated for the local public library that school directors debated on cutting last month, but decided against at Monday’s meeting.
To reduce its spending, the district previously developed a $3.1 million budget reduction plan.
The plan includes reducing staff size through attrition, decreasing building budgets and adjusting the temperature set point in district buildings, among other cuts.
It also would reduce library and instructional materials in district libraries, which some school directors criticized in light of the board’s decision to continue funding the public library through the next fiscal year.
The school board will vote on the final budget June 16.
