Tamaqua Area School Board members reviewed the administration’s proposed budget, which calls for a 3.17 mill tax increase, again Tuesday night.

The board next week will be looking at approving a preliminary budget, which will be available for public review ahead of adoption of a final budget in June.

The proposed tax increase amounts to about $120 a year, or about $10 a month, for the average taxpayer across all municipalities, business manager Connie Ligenza said.

School Board President Larry Wittig questioned how much revenue each mill generated, if the overall increase is $1.3 million, figuring that would be about $410,000 a mill.

Ligenza agreed, doing the math, and told the board that this budget gives them something to work with moving forward.

Wittig also asked about the $2.3 million in proposed expenditures listed at the end of the budget. These items include technology, infrastructure and facilities needs in the district that aren’t included in department budgets or in capital fund project planning.

The proposed budget includes $1 million to fund some of these expenditures, Ligenza said. Wittig asked if $1.3 million of the $2.3 million in proposed expenses would be eliminated then.

“Essentially, yes,” Ligenza said.

The proposed budget shows $39,880,052 in revenues and $39,908,429 in expenditures with a beginning fund balance of $2,116,099 and an ending fund balance in June 2025 of $2,087,722.

Superintendent Ray Kinder pointed out the district’s fund balance in the proposed budget is hovering just above the minimum recommended.

Ligenza has pointed out in previous budget discussions that the district would not want the fund balance to go below 5%, which equates to $1,995,421.

The district has seen its fund balance continuing to decline since 2019, when it was at $5,061,480. The biggest hit came last year when it dropped just over $1 million.

The board also avoided a 2.41 mill tax increase last year.