Pleasant Valley School District will be sticking to recent tradition by seeking exceptions from the state that would allow it to raise taxes above the Act 1 index without a voter referendum.

Business Manager Susan H. Famularo said the district has always applied for exceptions, even though they haven't been utilized in the past five years.Appropriations for the 2015-16 preliminary budget, which was approved in February, total $100,124,036 and propose a real estate tax millage of 158.1470 mills. That is a 12.1310-mill increase, or 8.31 percent, from the 2014-15 tax rate of 146.0160 mills.A home with an average assessed value of $20,872 would have a tax bill of $3,301, which is an increase of $253 from 2014-15. This millage increase represents the Act 1 Index of 2.7 percent, plus exceptions for special education and retirement."The strategy of seeking exceptions is adopted because there are many unknowns, especially the state budget, when we begin the budget process in the fall of the fiscal year," Famularo said.Per Act 1, the millage can be reduced from the preliminary budget rate but can't be increased."As the budget process moves along, all line items will be reviewed and studied for any possible reductions, which will impact the final budget. Items to be resolved as they become known are staff retirements and final pricing on line items such as insurance," the district said in a press release.According to district officials, the preliminary budget revenues, other than real estate taxes, remain flat due to current economic conditions. The budget also includes use of fund balance, or reserves, in the amount of $4.6 million. The district is using $6 million from the fund balance for its current budget.Pleasant Valley's final budget must be adopted by June 30.