Tax Increase Unlikely for SVSD Property Owners

A proposed 2013-2014 Saucon Valley School District budget without a tax increase was approved by school board directors at their Tuesday night meeting.

Money from the district's multimillion-dollar undesignated fund balance was used to balance the roughly $40.7 million budget, which superintendent Dr. Sandra Fellin pointed out is the district's fifth consecutive budget without a millage rate increase.

As is often the case, the budget represents a financial compromise between competing interests.

For example, although the proposed budget includes $8,108 to fund a full-time behavioral therapist in schools, it only funds the replacement of one school bus, whereas normally the district would seek to replace two buses, according to its replacement schedule.

The decision to replace just one bus is "kind of like a family deciding not to get a new car this year, but next year," board member Susan Baxter commented.

School district Supervisor of Operations Wally Zimpfer told the board he approved of the decision to replace just one bus.

Board member Lanita Lum advocated for money for the behavioral therapist position to be included in the budget.

"Our society has changed," she said. "We do need to address mental health issues in our district."

The vote to approve the proposed budget was 7-2, with board members Sandra Miller and Sharon Stack voting no.

Miller voted no after pushing to include more than $28,000 in the budget to keep a consumer science teaching position at full-time.

"I just kind of feel like we have not completed our work," she said when it appeared that the board would vote on the budget without that funding being included.

Miller later made a motion to use money from the undesignated fund balance to pay for the full-time consumer science teaching position, which was approved by a vote of 6-3. Voting against that motion were Baxter, board member Charles Bartolet and board president Michael Karabin.

Board member Ralph Puerta pointed out that the board still has "three meetings at which we can make changes before the final budget is approved."

The final 2013-2014 budget must be adopted by June 30.