The Weatherly Area School Board this month approved a tax increase of 1.5 mills on a 5 to 2 vote, with Tom Connors and Ryan Binder opposed.

The 2023-2024 General Fund Budget has total expenditures of $16,832,711, with a $675,000 deficit to be drawn from the district’s fund balance.

WASB Vice President William Knepper said that the board talked at length about both raising and lowering the tax increase, finally coming together at this amount.

He complained that the cost of cyber schools is “really high” and that the state needs to “step up” to aid districts for these costs.

With the resignation of Matthew vonFrisch as Weatherly Area School District Board member on May 11, Ryan Binder was officially sworn-in by district justice Joseph Homanko. Board members offered “thank yous” for vonFrisch’s years of service.

Binder will fill the vacancy on the athletic committee, and Kenneth Jacoby III steps up to be chairman of that committee. Jacoby will also cover the vacancy on the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21 board of directors.