Jim Thorpe Area School Board on Tuesday reluctantly gave approval to its 2015-2016 preliminary budget.

The vote was 5-4, with the budget calling for a 1-mill tax increase. Board members said they don't anticipate the tax increase when the final budget is approved.Board President Dennis J. McGinley was among the majority voting for the preliminary budget, but said, "I'm against raising taxes." He said he gave an affirmative vote because the budget was required to be passed by today.Besides McGinley, in favor were board members Walter Schulz, William Allison, Robert Schaninger and Dr. Michael Principe.Opposed to it are Gerald F. Strubinger, Glenn Confer, Pearl Sheckler and John Ciavarella.Principe said he voted to approve the 1-mill increase in the preliminary budget "just in case something catastrophic should happen." He said, "Without something catastrophic, we will seek no mill increase."He added that the board is not able to increase the millage in the final budget from what is in the preliminary budget.The present tax rate is 45.52 mills in the Jim Thorpe Area School District. One mill would be a 2.2 percent increase."We still have some work to do on our budget," Strubinger said. He added, "There are two ways of balancing a budget raising taxes and cutting expenses. We have to look at cutting expenses."One of his suggestions was to look at consolidating schools in Carbon County.Schaninger objected, saying, "Why should we lower our standards." He said the Jim Thorpe Area School District's state test scores are among the highest of all the districts in Carbon County.Strubinger said he feels one curriculum coordinator would be enough.McGinley posed a question to Strubinger about his feelings on art and music, to which Strubinger responded, "Sometimes we can't have everything."Schulz then joined in the discussion. He said six years ago, he sat in the audience and Strubinger was on the board. He said Strubinger suggested getting rid of the art and music programs then.Schulz recalled that a student attended a meeting back then and told the board how she had aspirations to attend an art school in New York City.One board member remarked, "We want a well-rounded school."Strubinger said he did not say anything about taking art out of the school, only music.Other approvals by the board were:• The board gave a 6-3 vote on the budget of the Carbon County Career and Technical Institute. Opposed were Sheckler, Schulz and Confer. The Jim Thorpe district's contribution for the new year would be $14,862 less than the present year.• The board voted 8-1 to approve the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit budget. Sheckler cast the only "no" vote.The school district's present contribution to the operating budget is $48,023. This will decrease to $46,301 for the next school year.Superintendent Brian J. Gasper said that the Intermediate Unit has sifted through its staff, decreasing its size through attrition. "It's a leaner organization," he said.Some board members felt the IU is placing more of a burden on the member districts, noting the operating budget doesn't include special programs and transportation.McGinley said he is not happy with the present transportation arrangement."They cannot tell us how much we're actually paying for transportation," said McGinley.Schulz agreed to take the concerns back to the Intermediate Unit board. He said, "They can't give a definitive rate for every student because every student's need is different."