Panther Valley school board members say they would rather cut expenses than ask taxpayers to pay to close a large budget deficit.

Some say they would even consider consolidating with another school district.

“We hate to put the burden on the taxpayers,” said Danny Matika, Panther Valley School Board president.

School board members voted to pass a preliminary 2021-22 budget Monday night with $30.8 million in expenses.

The spending plan includes a 3% tax increase for residents in both Carbon and Schuylkill counties.

Even with the tax increase, the district will have to cut $473,905.15 in expenses in order to avoid running out of funds during the 2021-22 school year.

“I live in this district and I don’t want to see my neighbors being taxed like crazy. We have to make cuts. We have to make hard choices,” said Superintendent David McAndrew Jr.

The current school property tax rate for Panther Valley residents in Carbon is 65.44 mills and in Schuylkill, 60.22. In both counties, the district has the highest rate.

Expenses have increased about $2 million over last year. The largest increase is in the cost of cyber charter tuition. Based on current enrollment, the district expects charter tuition to be $1.5 million more than it budgeted. Health care costs have also been up about $400,000 because of a high number of insurance claims in the past year, district officials said.

As expenses increase, the assessed value of the district’s real estate has gone down.

The district’s business manager, Jesse Walck, recommended a tax increase of 8.8%, so the district could cover its expenses without running out of money before the end of the 2021-22 school year. The board voted 8-0 against that budget. Joseph Faenza was absent.

The budget gap for the following year will likely be larger. The district is using $2.4 million in one-time COVID-19 relief funds to cover expenses.

Board members said continuing to raise taxes will continue to push people out of their homes.

“You can’t keep raising the taxes 6 mills every single year. People are going to lose their houses,” said school board member Steven Foster.

Foster and board member Keith Krapf said if significant tax increases are the only option, then the school board needs to explore the possibility of merging with other school districts.

“If we’re this bad off, maybe we should start looking at consolidation and merging with other districts,” Krapf said. “I hate to say that, but you’re going to push people out of their homes.”