Residents who live in the Northern Lehigh School District will see a 2.8 percent increase in their property tax rates next year.

By a 7-1 vote, the school board on Monday adopted the 2014-15 budget. Director Mathias Green was opposed. Director Gary Fedorcha was absent.Green said he opposed the budget due to the state not providing equitable funding for school districts, and, as a result, the district had to create a budget without knowing how much funding it will receive from the state.The budget calls for a 0.59-mill increase for residents who live in Lehigh County, and a 0.63-mill increase for residents who live in Northampton County.The $29,132,905 spending plan increases the millage rate from 20.17 to 20.76 mills for residents who live in Lehigh County, and from 57.31 to 57.94 mills for residents who live in Northampton County.Sherri Molitoris, co-director of business affairs/human resources, said the district will use $465,000 from its fund balance to help offset about a $525,000 increase in the Public School Employees Retirement System.Molitoris added that the district could still see an additional $271,000 through a Ready to Learn block grant, on top of the $128,000 in Accountability Block Grant funding it received last year.In a related matter, the board approved the lease of desktop computers for the high school Study Island Lab and Slatington Elementary Computer Lab; laptop computers for the high school science department laptop carts and faculty; interactive projectors for high school rooms; and replacement printers for the middle school office, high school guidance and main office for $61,000 per year, with a lease term of 36 months, and a $1 buyout option at the end of the lease agreement.Also, the board approved to commit, and/or assign, portions of the June 30, 2014 fund balance for the following purposes: PSERS increase; health insurance premiums; technology; replacement equipment; and long-range maintenance: with the actual amounts to be determined after completion of the 2013-14 end of year audit.In addition, the board approved the 2014 Homestead and Farmstead Exclusion Resolution, which calls for the aggregate number of approved homesteads/farmsteads at 3,773. The final maximum real estate tax reduction amount applicable to each approved homestead and farmstead is $257.69.In January, the board approved the Act 1 Tax Levy Resolution, which states that the district may raise taxes up to the 2.8 percent index in the 2014-15 school year.Last year, the board approved the 2013-14 budget with a 2.3 percent increase in the property tax rate.That budget, in the amount of $28,509,357,represented a $402,575 increase over the 2012-13 spending plan, and called for a 20.17 millage rate in Lehigh County, and a 57.31 millage rate in Northampton County.Residents who live in Lehigh County had to pay $2.01 for every $100 of assessed value, and those who live in Northampton County, $5.73 for every $100 of assessed value. That was because Lehigh County was assessed at 100 percent, while Northampton County was assessed at 50 percent.The district took $347,000 out of its fund balance that had been set aside for the PSERS increase to help balance that budget.