The Panther Valley School Board voted down the Carbon Career & Technical Institute’s proposed budget for 2025-26.

The board voted 6-2 against the proposed budget, which did not include an increase in contributions from the five participating schools.

The budget did, however, include increases for top supervisors that didn’t sit well with Panther Valley board members.

Following the Wednesday meeting, Director Michael Alabovitz pointed to the increases in salaries for principal, special education supervisor and operations and maintenance supervisors to illustrate his point.

CCTI’s principal would see an increase from $92,115 to $100,912 in the proposed budget, or an $8,797 raise in one year, he said.

The special education supervisor would see an increase from $88,860 to $97,856, or $8,996 more a year; and the maintenance and operations supervisor would go from $78,250 to $87,602, or $8,352 more a year, he said.

Alabovitz estimated the raises at 8% or 9% a year.

“Who gives out 8% raises on a regular basis?” he asked. “I don’t understand. Who gives out raises like this?”

Some of the raises in the CCTI budget are contractual raises with union employees, which he understands, but the other raises are for administrative employees, Alabovitz said.

“I don’t have a problem with people getting paid a fair wage,” he said. “But your wage should be based on your responsibility. Our people have way more responsibility than their people.

“That maintenance supervisor has one building,” Alabovitz said, whereas Panther Valley has three buildings to be overseen.

“That principal has one building with 300 kids,” he said. “Our high school principal isn’t making as much as that principal makes and she has seventh grade to 12th.

“These people have very little responsibility to make way more money than our people,” he said. “How can I in good conscience approve their budget?”

Panther Valley’s junior-senior high principal’s salary is $87,503 for this school year, and the maintenance supervisor salary is $64,154 plus $7,300 a year for being on call for building alarms. Panther Valley’s special education supervisor’s salary is $85,044 for 2024-25. Those wages were the result of 3% increases from the previous year.

Panther Valley’s vote against the CCTI budget won’t make a difference, he said, as long as three of the five participating districts approve the budget.

“It just sends a message,” Alabovitz said, adding that the other districts probably didn’t look at the salaries.

Those voting for the budget were Pat Leonzi, who is an alternate member of the CCTI joint operating committee, and Anthony DeMarco.

Board member Renee DeMelfi, who is Panther Valley’s representative on the CCTI Joint Operating Committee, was not at Wednesday’s school board meeting.

The board did not discuss the CCTI’s budget during the meeting.