East Penn School Board approved the proposed 2015-2016 final budget at $141,068,036 and 17.294 mills on assessed real estate value, signifying a real estate tax increase of 3.78 percent for households in the district. This latest draft of the budget realized the removal of the controversial school resource officer after concerns voiced from board members led the administration to reconsider the proposal.

Superintendent J. Michael Schilder told the board this was a difficult year and a tight budget.

"Where compromises had to be made, we made them," Schilder said. "But I am comfortable making this budget recommendation to you tonight. I think it serves the board well and the community well."

Schilder described this year as the year to get through, with greater likelihood of revenue increases and a certainty of debt service decreases in the coming years' forecast.

The budget is still built with a structural deficit, but, Schilder said, "This is not the year to fix them."

The fund reserve is just in excess of $6 million– that is, just under the recommended five percent for the district, an item with which Board Director Lynn Donches took issue.

Donches stated openly she would not support the budget, and insisted on finding ways to make deeper cuts across the board, starting with the administrative department. This after Schilder explicitly stated the budget had been combed through since the last board meeting with very little room to maneuver.

In a statement to the board, Donches accused the district of failing to "exercise any kind of discipline" and urged the board to "start the reversal" of small increases that have added up over the years instead of relying on promised revenues from incoming construction projects scheduled to go online in the next two years, what Donches referred to as "warehouse taxes."

Several board members countered Donches's statement with a firm rebuttal, standing behind the administration's austerity and acknowledging while raising taxes is no one's first choice, at times it becomes necessary for the good of the district.

Wally Vinovskis was one of the most vocal supporters of the administration's choices, arguing to hold up East Penn's spending per student against that of any other district would yield a proportionately higher quality result. "We do a fine job being austere," Vinovskis said.

Against one of Donches's arguments the cost of personnel is too high, Vinovskis returned the district's teachers are its greatest asset toward providing a quality education for students. "[Teachers] are more important than anything, and it just makes sense that the largest part of our budget would go to support that part of the educational process."

Dr. Ken Bacher also disagreed with Donches, stating to her directly, "You just don't know what you're talking about, frankly. It upsets me that you make political statements without the background for what you're saying."

Bacher pointed out the district is not spending money on things it needs, such as new computers, which can affect the quality of education in the district. "I don't like what we're doing either but I can see the reasons why it's necessary," he concluded.

Ziad Munson listed several aspects of the student experience that will be affected by budget cuts this year, including less music for music departments, fewer author visits to generate student interest in reading, a total elimination of funds to assist with the afterball party for high school students, designed to keep them away from alcohol and driving after school events; and cutting textbooks for health and wellness/fitness classes, as just noted in a presentation to the board that evening. To add on to this, Munson also noted preventative maintenance and other building repairs such as electrical work at the high school being postponed because of budget cuts. "It is simply to misrepresent the facts," Munson said, "to say the district does not rein in spending."

Charles Ballard requested the administration to draw up an analysis of anticipated increases in revenue to show how the district is going to get out of the budgetary deficit in the short-term future. He countered Donches's statements by noting on average for the past 150 years of history in the country, costs of doing a job increase three percent every year. "It's strains credulity," Ballard said, "to have people state there's something wrong with what we're doing without any facts, without any figures and when figures are produced that are half-truths, erroneous, or made up."

Alan Earnshaw also noted several repair and maintenance items, including sidewalks and flooring, not taking place because of budget cuts and that they would only become more expensive being put off longer. In addition, he said that "to say that the administration has been spared [budget cuts] is ludicrous," noting the spending freeze put in place just this year on all purchase orders.

The proposed budget was approved with only Donches dissenting. In June the board will vote for its final budget, with any changes to be made between now and the last meeting of the fiscal year.

In keeping with budget talks, the board reappointed Debra Surdoval as treasurer, again with only Donches dissenting. Donches reminded the board Surdoval was in her position when the purchase order that funded the illegal burial of construction waste on district property last year was signed, and that she, Donches, could not support the motion. Schilder quickly followed up with a statement for the record no board member should be reprimanding an administrator in public. "That is unacceptable," Schilder said.

The choice for Surdoval as treasurer was vocally supported by other board members including Ballard, who lauded her for her selfless devotion to the district for over 20 years, and Earnshaw who noted for his fellow board members the "depth of expertise" Surdoval brings to the position.

A new sign welcoming onlookers to Emmaus will be installed on the corner of Pine Street and Cedar Crest after the board briefly discussed any right-of-way issues likely to arise from its presence. The Borough of Emmaus, which holds the right-of-way, has already approved the sign which will be funded by the East Penn Chamber of Commerce. Francee Fuller noted the idea of the sign is to welcome people to the community and to identify it within the broad spectrum of East Penn communities that otherwise blend together, for outsiders at least.