Northern Lehigh School District remains steadfast in its approach to trim its current budget shortfall.

A budget presentation focused on deficit reduction was front and center at last week’s school board meeting.

Business manager Sherri Molitoris said the preliminary budget calls for a 4.8% tax increase, with a budget shortfall of $1.1 million.

Reductions

Superintendent Dr. Matthew J. Link reviewed potential reduction options, and cautioned “that all these options will have some sort of impact either on education or on operations within the school district.”

Link said the first option would be to not fill the recommended high school business teacher position ($122,139), which he added would have impacts on its Business Career Pathway, scheduling and course loading for next school year. The position is currently vacant.

Link said another opportunity through attrition would be for secondary music teacher/band instructor ($114,906), as the current person has tendered her resignation.

Another potential option would include two special education paraeducators ($48,513).

Additionally, Link said they are recommending to remove Chromebooks/projectors K2, and adjust the lease cycle K-3 ($70,000.)

He said they are also recommending that the Northern Lehigh Police Department decreases its budget by $5,000; each school building reduce their budgets by 2% each; superintendent’s budget be reduced by $5,000, professional development budget be reduced by $10,000; board budget be reduced by $5,000; legal fees be reduced by $5,000; reduce permanent subs by one position (through attrition, $48,513); a Peters Elementary School schedule adjustment ($11,000); special education budget be reduced by $5,000; transportation budget be reduced by $51,387; canvas at Peters Elementary School by $1,683; Slatington Public Library Donation ($5,000); and worker compensation rates decrease (unknown reduction), for a total of $515,418 in budget deficit reduction.

“We are also looking at ways to preserve the fund balance for future needs,” Link said.

He said fund balance preservation options include to not replace the Northern Lehigh High School water softener & filtration ($75,000) next year; and forego replacing additional furniture at Slatington Elementary School $55,000) and Northern Lehigh High School ($45,000).

Link said they’d be looking at about a $515,000 deficit reduction, coupled with whatever tax increase the school board would support, and also looking at ways to preserve the fund balance down the road.

Public concerns

Mary Frank, representing Northern Lehigh Education Association, said, “I want to be clear that if the only way to balance the district budget is by overworking, underpaying or otherwise mistreating staff, then that is a prime example of irresponsible leadership by both the board and our administration and neither is appropriate or sustainable.

“Balancing a budget should never come at the expense of the people who keep our schools running,” Frank said. “Cost cutting that relies on pushing employees beyond reasonable limits or disregarding their well-being is not acceptable.

“The people who work in our schools are not expendable line items. We are the foundation of this district.”

Resident Keith Horn voiced that taxes go up every year in the district.

“Every year we get a tax increase,” Horn said. “For once it would be nice to get like none, is that possible, probably not.”

Business program

Director Gary Fedorcha asked how not filling the high school business teacher position would impact students who want to pursue that part of their curriculum.

“I realize cutting the budget by that is going to help us, but it’s going to hurt our students possibly,” Fedorcha said. “So I just need to know what ramifications that will have.”

Link framed that answer.

“It will limit the number of options for students that want to pursue either a degree in business or even potentially go into their own business right after graduation,” Link said. “It’s going to limit options available in the Business Pathway, trying to make our pathways to graduation and Career Pathways more robust, it will impact that.”

High school Principal Dr. Lori Bali said they worked hard over this past year to create a robust Business Pathway.

“We would be very limited,” said Bali, who added currently they share a business person with the middle school.

“Our current business options are very limited.”

Bali said they created electives such as business law, sports management, “things that are up and coming,” and noted that 30% of its student population is interested in the Business Entrepreneurship Pathway. “So it would have serious implications.”

Music and library

Fedorcha then asked about the secondary music teacher/band instructor and asked how that would impact the students that want a music program.

“It will undo all the work that we’ve done for the last two to three years to build back up the numbers in our band and students participating in music course work at the middle school and high school,” Link said.

“Again cutting programs for our students and hurting students,” Fedorcha said.

Fedorcha said he was concerned with the donation the district gives to the Slatington Public Library.

“My concern with that is if every organization or any community decides to pull their funding from the library, I do not see our library being open next year,” Fedorcha said. “Our library is really funded through donations of the public, we get very little from the state, every year it’s cut more and more by the feds and the state.

“Again that library is used by our community every day, and also by some of our students doing some other work. That is an important, integral part of our community; I feel we need to be alert to the fact that if we and other communities remove their funding from the library, we will not have a library in Slatington next year.”

Director Joyce Thompson agreed.

“A lot of the students go there after school, spend time use the computers, and use that access to research there,” Thompson said.

Director Timothy Weaber thanked Link and the rest of administration, but said he was still a little disappointed because he had asked them to come back with a prioritized list to get them down to a zero deficit.

“I would recommend that administration go back and dig deeper,” Weaber said. “I know it’s going to hurt, but where else can we cut.”

Tax impact

The district has proposed a 4.8% tax increase for the 2026-27 school year, though directors said the final hike approved in June is unlikely to be that high.

If approved as proposed, the 4.8% increase would raise the millage rate to 26.7255 in Lehigh County and 85.7432 in Northampton County. The board approved the millage rates 8-1, with Bilby opposed.

Board President Mathias Green said the rates differ because the two counties conducted property assessments at different times.

Business Manager Sherri Molitoris added Lehigh County is assessed at 100%, while Northampton County is assessed at 50%.

Molitoris said the district’s main cost drivers include salaries and benefits, health care and Public School Employees’ Retirement System contribution, specialized education costs through the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit, charter and cyber charter tuition, maintenance and utility increases, and outplacements.

Molitoris said the 4.8% increase would generate $859,926 in additional revenue.

She said in Lehigh County, a median assessed home valued at $151,850 would see an estimated $111 increase. In Northampton County, a median assessed home valued at $46,200 would see an estimated $181 increase.

Molitoris said the value of 1 mill is currently $670,126.