Northern Lehigh School District residents will see a 2.5% increase in their property tax rates.

On a narrow 5-4 vote, the school board on Monday adopted the 2022-2023 general fund final budget in the amount of $37,831,914.

Directors Gary Fedorcha, Robin Distler, Donna Kulp, Robert Keegan Jr. and Chad Christman were in favor. Directors Gale Husack, Robert Kern, Michelle Heckman and board President Mathias Green were opposed.

That came after a motion by Husack to adopt the budget with a 3.25% increase per administrative recommendation failed due to the lack of a second.

Distler then made a motion for a 2.5% increase, which was approved.

Employee profile

Link said the budget includes the current Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund positions, an additional elementary special education teacher for Slatington Elementary School, an elementary classroom teacher (a kindergarten teacher funded through ESSER), an additional half-time middle school position (current Family Consumer Science half-time position expanded into a full-time position to pick up additional responsibilities of career readiness and positive behavior support functions within the building), and the addition of a school police officer into the administrative support staff agreement.

Long-term projects

Link gave an update on some of the long-term projects in the district, including items they have been tracking more closely over this school year.

He said the district is still in need of a large utility shed/pole building for the maintenance department ($100,000); and that the Peters Elementary gym wall ($130,000) must be replaced.

Link said the district did receive some good news on the chillers at Northern Lehigh High School, as it should be in good shape for a minimum of another five years.

He said that two board meetings ago, the district found out it would not need to replace the water treatment plant at Peters Elementary School, as the plant is expected to be operational (which is minor maintenance and repairs) for at least another 25 years.

Link said that over the weekend, the district has further locked in the cost of the potential project of the baseball/softball fields ($1,720,776) to renovate the baseball and softball complexes, an addition of concession stands and actual fencing around the field, and to actually replace the baseball field “because the drainage there is just unacceptable at this point.”

Last month, the board on an 8-1 vote adopted the proposed final budget in the amount of $37,650,443. Keegan was opposed.

Last June, the board approved the budget with a 2% increase.

Refinancing of bonds

The board on Monday unanimously adopted a parameters resolution as presented by Bond Counsel, King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul LLC authorizing general obligation debt in an amount not to exceed $16,500,000 to fund a capital improvement project and restructure all or a portion of the 2012 Bonds, the Series A & B 2018 Notes and the 2020 Notes to achieve short-term debt service reductions.

Sherri Molitoris, director of Business Affairs, Business & Human Resource Officer, noted that moving forward with the bond restructuring would result in a $1 million savings, which would leave a shortfall of $759,000. She said the district still has Basic Education Funding and Special Education Funding from the state, and while it’s unsure of what it will be getting, that could be used to offset the $759,000 shortfall.

Impact on property owners

Molitoris said that the 2.5% increase results in a millage rate of 24.0684 in Lehigh County, and a millage rate of 68.8022 for Northampton County.

She said that with a 2.5% increase, Lehigh County residents with a median assessed home value at $149,000 will see no increase at all in their tax bill, while Northampton County residents with a median assessed home value at $45,850 would pay $22 more.

Molitoris said that Lehigh County is assessed at 100%, while Northampton County is assessed at 50%.

She said that Lehigh County in 2018 went through a full county reassessment, so their reassessment values went from 50% to 100% at that point in time, so that’s why there’s a difference between the two counties.