Palmerton Area School District will stay within its Act 1 index should it decide to raise property taxes for the 2017-18 school year.

The board passed a motion Tuesday night stating it would not increase taxes by more than 3.4 percent."This doesn't mean that taxes will or won't be raised, it just means they can't go above this level and we won't seek any exemptions to go above that," Superintendent Scot Engler said.Last year, Palmerton also stayed within its index of 3.2 percent.Business Manager Ryan Kish said if Palmerton was to raise taxes to the maximum allowed, he wasn't sure what a 3.4 percent increase would equate to in extra revenue for the district."I know that last year, 3.2 percent was about $500,000, so that's a good ballpark figure to use," Kish said.Palmerton approved a 1.72-mill tax increase for 2016-17, bringing its total to 55.5293 mills.Other mattersIn other business Tuesday, the board:• Approved insurance renewals including general liability, $98,199; school board legal liability, $16,450; excess liability, $13,800; and cyber liability, $7,015.61.• Approved an agreement with Cedar Crest College that allows students and faculty enrolled in the college's nursing program to use district facilities.• Approved a change order adding $8,183 to the contract with CMG of Easton bringing the total to $620,183.• Approved Brandi Hoffman as a substitute instructional aide, Ashley Snyder and Katie Slater as substitute teachers, and April Duff as a substitute secretary, cafeteria and custodian.• Accepted the retirement of teacher Carolyn Way at the end of the 2016-17 school year.• Accepted the retirement of custodian Donald Heiney, effective June 30.• Accepted the resignation of Robert Palazzo, school psychologist, effective Jan. 2.