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LEHMAN TWP. — The Lake-Lehman School Board approved a $30.5 million 2016-2017 school budget with a 3 percent tax increase for Luzerne County residents on Monday.
The nine-member school board passed the budget with a 6-3 vote. School board members Robert Wright, Karen Masters and Robin Wesley opposed budget and tax increase.
The millage rate will be 10.2806 for district residents in Harveys Lake Borough and Lake, Lehman and Ross townships. Residents in Noxen will have a 53.2217 mill rate, which is a 1.82 percent decrease in property taxes. A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of assessed property value.
The tax increase was based on whether the 2015-16 budget would be balanced or retain a $1.2 million deficit.
Business manager Thomas Melone explained a $600,000 decrease in the district’s expenditures and a $680,000 increase in revenue helped the 2015-16 budget break even.
The news did little to quench the concerns of some board members who weathered a financially tough school year due to a state budget impasse that almost forced many public schools to close this spring.
“The state’s inaction forces us to take action,” said board President Andrew Salko.
Melone did not factor in any increase in state funding for the 2016-17 school year when calculating the budget.