It’s been over a decade since property taxes have gone up in Jim Thorpe Area School District and that doesn’t appear to be changing now.

Jim Thorpe’s school board on Wednesday night approved a proposed final 2023-24 budget that has no tax hike, but does include a $3.1 million deficit.

The budget calls for expenditures of $49.42 million in expenditures versus $46.25 million in revenues.

At a committee meeting one week earlier, Superintendent Robert Presley recommended at least a one-mill tax increase, which would generate $600,000 in revenue.

“I’m not a tax and spend person, but the reality is if we don’t do something, the trajectory of our fund balance is not good,” Presley said.

If the budget holds as approved Wednesday, Jim Thorpe’s fund balance would drop to $7.8 million at the end of the 2023-24 school year.

Though things could change before the final budget approval in June, Board President Scott Pompa said he did not see Jim Thorpe’s current directors backing a tax increase.

“There is so much you have to consider,” Pompa said. “You have to think about people putting fuel in their vehicle or feeding their family. I do believe school boards have to start looking down the road though. We keep losing students, but costs keep rising.”

A one-mill increase would result in an additional $50 on the tax bill for a property owner with an average assessment of $49,400.

While they’re still facing a deficit, Jim Thorpe’s projected expenses have gone down from $50.8 million in 2022-23 to $49.4 million in 2023-24.

Presley said part of that is due to the reduction of 14 full-time employment positions, the reduction of bus runs and the reduction of an Apple lease that figures to save the district on its debt service payments.

Budgeted salaries have gone from $15.94 million to $15.91 million, while the transportation budget has dropped from $3.3 million to $2.7 million.

“One of the issues for us is while our change in mandated costs related to pension reimbursement, charter tuition and special education have gone up $11.3 million over the last 10 years, our state funding in those areas has only gone up $3.6 million,” Presley said.

Jim Thorpe will vote on its final budget during the June 21 board meeting.