Northern Lehigh School District won’t exceed the tax rate index in the event it opts to increase property taxes for the 2019-2020 school year.

The school board, on an 8-0 vote with Director Mathias Green absent, approved the Act 1 Tax Levy resolution on Monday.

The resolution states that if the board raises the property tax rate, it will not go above its tax rate index of 3 percent.

In June, the board agreed to adopt the general fund final budget for the 2018-19 school year with a 1.22 percent tax increase.

The $34,474,274 spending plan was adopted with a 21.96 millage rate for Lehigh County and a 63.93 millage rate for Northampton County.

Per the median assessed value of a home, residents of the district who live in Lehigh County will see an $89 increase in their property tax rates, while residents of the district who live in Northampton County will see a $97 increase.

The district used $2.3 million from the district’s fund balance.

Sherri Molitoris, co-director of business affairs/human resources, said the primary driving factors behind that budget increase were $4.1 million in Public School Employees Retirement System costs ($279,000 increase); $2.7 million for medical ($160,000 increase), as well as contractual matters and additional staffing.