A 1.22 percent tax increase is in the cards next year for residents of the Northern Lehigh School District.

The school board, on an 8-0 vote Monday, agreed to adopt the general fund final budget for the 2018-19 school year. Director Donna Kulp was absent.

The $34,474,274 spending plan was adopted with a 21.96 millage rate for Lehigh County and a 63.93 millage rate for Northampton County.

Per the median assessed value of a home, residents of the district who live in Lehigh County will see an $89 increase in their property tax rates, while residents of the district who live in Northampton County will see a $97 increase.

The district will use $2.3 million from the district’s fund balance.

Sherri Molitoris, co-director of business affairs/human resources, said the primary driving factors behind the budget increase were $4.1 million in Public School Employees Retirement System costs ($279,000 increase); $2.7 million for medical ($160,000 increase), as well as contractual matters and additional staffing.

Additional staffing includes:

• Peters Elementary: One full-time regular education teacher and three paraprofessionals to address larger class sizes in the primary grades. The district wants to ensure all students’ needs are met, but most importantly to make sure the students are reading on grade level by the time they are in third grade.

• Slatington Elementary: Two paraprofessionals to support differentiated instruction in ways such as offering small group and one-to-one instruction and remediation for students that need additional support to close or prevent learning gaps.

• Northern Lehigh Middle School: Increase a half-time art teacher to a full-time position. This employee is also certified as a school librarian and will allow the district to offer more learning opportunities within the middle school library with an emphasis on STEAM activities. It includes an office paraprofessional to allow its Licensed Practical Nurse to fully function in the nurse capacity and not have to also cover the office. There will also be one additional paraprofessional with an emphasis on supporting students with special needs, as well as a math teacher position to be shared with the high school. This position will teach two courses at the middle school.

• Northern Lehigh High School: Increase of an additional math teacher to address requirements and improve course offerings; the addition of four cafeteria monitor positions for four hours per day, five days per week. These positions will assist with other general duties around the school and allow administration to remove teachers from being cafeteria monitors and instead offer additional courses/elective, work on curriculum writing, and assist in project-based assessment requirements.