Palmerton Area School District's proposed 2014-15 still calls for a 1-mill increase.

Oddly enough, not one taxpayer in the district attended the budget presentation given Tuesday by district business manager Diane Serfass.The 2014-15 budget, proposed last month, includes a high-school guidance counselor at a salary of $88,716; two teachers at S.S. Palmer Elementary, each receiving a salary of $77,455; a half-time high school science teacher at a salary of $36,764; the re-implementation of a band adviser at the junior high/senior high complex at a cost of $4,349; and six summer maintenance workers to work four days a week, seven hours per day, at a combined salary of $14,146.The budget calls for $137,224 in capital requests to technology improvements; new wrestling mats; and new warm-ups for track and field.The proposed budget categories are instruction, $18,721,944; support, $7,561,468; non-instructional, $660,572; debt service, $1,612,856; other financing, $53,975, for a total budget of $28.6 million, an increase of $435,816, or 1.55 percent over the 2013-14 budget.Salaries (38 percent) and employee benefits (23 percent) comprise the biggest expenses, Serfass said.Budget issuesSerfass said the district's Act 1 index was set at 2.8 percent for the 2014-15 school year, which equates to 1.44 mills, or a total of a possible millage of 52.88 mills.The total millage the district could have increased under the Act 1 index was 1.9948 mills.State funding consists of a basic education subsidy of $6.2 million.Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed an increase of about $292,821 in the form of a new Ready to Learn Block Grant, but that funding is not confirmed and is not included in the budget.Corbett has also proposed $30,503 for special education based on a new funding formula, which also is not reflected in these numbers, Serfass said.Other budget considerations are the impact of cyber/charter schools; contractual agreements; special education costs; state mandates; the future impact of retiree increases; and the economic status of the community, she said.Gaming revenue anticipated in 2014-2015 is $745,844.Other costsSerfass said that the retirement funding rate has increased from 16.93 percent to 21.40 percent.The rate is set by a state actuarial study, Serfass said, adding that rate is mandated, and the district has no control over it.To make matters worse, she said the rate is expected to increase for the next 10 years and peak at 43.9 percent in the year 2019-20.The governor's budget has been announced for Public School Employees Retirement System reform, but it's uncertain at this time, Serfass said.The rate increase was at a low of 4.76 percent in 2008-09, but has jumped to a rate of 21.40 percent for 2014-15, which Serfass said represents an increase of 16.64 percent over six years.The rate is set by the state under existing legislative statutes, Serfass said.The budget also needs to include funds for special needs students, such as educational requirements/special services and the increase in costs for cyber school students.The district is offering a cyber education program to try to reduce costs, she said.Serfass said the district has become a member of a multiple purchasing consortia; is doing more in-house bidding to reduce costs; participate in a health insurance trust; has taken a cautious approach to facility planning; has refinanced debt in the last two years; continues to stress energy conservation; has sought grant monies; offering district cyber education; participates in natural gas/electricity consortia for cost savings; and has reduced administrative positions.IncreaseIf the budget is adopted with a 1-mill increase, a person with a home valued at $90,000, which would be assessed at $45,000, would pay $45 more in property taxes to the district next year.Similarly, a person with a home valued at $140,000, and assessed at $70,000, would pay $70 more, while a person with a home valued at $200,000, and assessed at $100,000, would pay $100 more.In February the board approved a proposed $28.7 million budget, which would result in a 2.8 percent, or 1.44-mill increase in the property tax rate.A copy of the presentation will soon be made available at

www.palmerton.org.The board is scheduled to adopt the proposed budget by May 20.The final budget adoption is expected by June 17, though the board has until June 30 if needed.