Lehighton Area School District’s 2021-22 budget approval was one of a series of 5-4 votes during Monday night’s nearly five-hour meeting.

The budget calls for revenues of $42,717,382 and expenditures of $42,714,981 for a projected surplus of $2,401. It also includes a 4.2% property tax increase. A homeowner with a property assessed at $80,000 will see a $170 increase in property taxes.

Voting for the budget were Rita Spinelli, Wayne Wentz, Stephen Holland, Larry Stern and Nathan Foeller. David Bradley, Joy Beers, Richard Beltz and Gail Maholick voted the budget down.

Bradley tried to postpone the vote, saying taxpayers should have a chance to ask questions in person. June was Lehighton’s last virtual board meeting before it returns to in-person sessions next month.

“The budget expanded $1.6 million over last year,” Bradley said. “The people are the ones paying for it and we work for them. We have a couple days to do it.”

Budgets across the state have to be adopted by June 30.

Monday was not the first time the financial outlook for 2021-22 has been discussed at a meeting. The document, district officials pointed out, was reviewed at multiple finance committee meetings leading up to the vote.

“I understand the concern,” Spinelli said after Bradley’s comments, “but we added full student transportation back in this year’s budget and that alone was over $1 million. If we postpone this, I’m not sure how public will physically review it in person in a few days. It has been online for months.”

The budget includes a full $1.3 million for student transportation after that line item was cut and eventually partially restored last year.

There is $915,219 budgeted for technology, $322,000 of which will go toward new Chromebooks.

In terms of building repairs, $159,000 is budgeted for an administration building roof replacement.

The district’s annual debt service payment is slated to be just shy of $3.8 million.

A contribution to Lehighton Area Memorial Library remains at $10,000, which is a $10,000 reduction from 2020-21.

For many, it’s the large tax increase that doesn’t sit well.

“I think it is correcting for past mistakes in my opinion,” Beers said.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, Lehighton isn’t the only district taking its tax increase to the maximum amount allowed by the state.

Palmerton Area School District earlier this month approved a 4.1% increase. Pleasant Valley has a meeting Tuesday night where it is trying to whittle down a 4.1% proposed increase.

“This is not an act anyone wants to do,” Stern said of Lehighton’s hike. “But it is what we need to run this district.”

The district also approved the annual homestead and farmstead exclusion resolution, which provides qualifying property owners tax relief from state gambling funds. The motion passed 8-1 with only Maholick voting against it.

According to the resolution, the maximum reduction applicable to each approved homestead and farmstead is $267.42.

Business Manager Edward Rarick said Lehighton has 4,465 qualifying properties this year, which is down from 4,515 a year ago.