The Panther Valley School District board of directors on Thursday approved a budget with a tax increase for the 2020-21 school year.

The board voted 5-3 to approve a $28.2 million budget for the coming school year, which does not include the wrestling program.

It includes a tax increase of 0.75 mills for homeowners in Carbon County, and 3.4 mills for Schuylkill.

The school board meeting was closed to the public and streamed on Zoom.

Under the proposed budget, the owner of a home with the average property value in the Carbon section, $19,000, would see their tax bill increase by $13 to $1,243.

The owner of a home with the average property value in the Schuylkill County section, $16,800, would see their tax bill increase by $57, to $1,011.

It will leave the district with less than $50,000 in its fund balance at the end of the year.

Gary Porembo, Renee DeMelfi and Irene Genther voted against the proposed budget.

The board did not discuss the budget during Thursday’s meeting. Last month, when they proposed the same budget, DeMelfi and Genther said they were against raising taxes because of the financial impact of COVID-19.

In order to reduce expenses, the district is doing away with its wrestling program. Teachers also reportedly agreed to a 10 percent cut in their budget for classroom materials.

According to Times News archives, Panther Valley has a rich wrestling tradition, and enjoyed a strong five-year run toward the end of the last decade.

The Panthers had at least one state qualifier every year from 2014-18, and sent three wrestlers to Hershey in 2014.

But in recent years, the program has struggled with low numbers. In its final two matches of the regular season, Panther Valley filled four out of 14 spots in its varsity lineup each time.

Before that, the Panthers wrestled with three twice and two on another occasion.

The district has struggled in past years to keep teachers on staff because of low pay.

The district has joined with five others in the same boat in suing the state to reform its state subsidy program.

After several years of legal wrangling, Commonwealth Court has agreed to hear the case, and it will be heard later this year or early next year.