Jim Thorpe Area School District’s 2018-19 fiscal year budget was approved during last week’s board of education meeting.

Dr. Clem McGinley announced a mill rate of 45.52, with an estimated revenue of $41,135,000 and expenses amounting to $46,294,000. This is the seventh year the district has maintained the rate at that level, McGinley said.

“The deficit of about $5 million will be covered by our fund balance,” McGinley said.

Board member Gerald Strubinger voted against the motion, saying that the district needs to make more opportunities to trim expenses before a final approval.

“I’m going to vote ‘no’ against the budget because there weren’t enough budget workshops so that we could look into the budget and see where we could make some cuts. I’m sure there are some cuts that could be made in regard to that, and there were no workshops with regard to the budget,” he said.

Though the motion passed in a 7-2 vote, board member Pearl Downs-Sheckler concurred with Strubinger’s opinion on cost-cutting.

“I am going to say ‘yes’ because we are not going to do an increase, but I agree we should do workshops to see where we could save some money,” Downs-Sheckler said during the vote.

The earned income tax rate for the Jim Thorpe Area School District for the 2018-19 school year has been set at 1 percent. The per capita tax is $5, and the occupational privilege tax is $10. The real estate transfer tax rate is 1 percent, and the amusement tax is 2.5 percent. The mechanical devices tax is $3 per month, and the municipal service tax is $10.

The 2018-19 tax bill date is Aug. 1, 2018, with a 2 percent discount offered on payments received by Sept. 30. Base payment is due on or before Nov. 30, with a 10 percent penalty added on Dec. 1. Unpaid bills will be turned over by Dec. 31. Tax installments are available to approved homesteads and small businesses only, and payments must be made on or before Sept. 30, Oct. 31 and Nov. 30. A 10 percent penalty will be applied to second and third installments, and no installment can begin after Sept. 30.