The Pennsylvania Department of Education has approved the Northampton Area School District’s application for exceptions to raise taxes above the mandated ceiling.

“We received the approval of the exceptions,” NASD Superintendent of Schools Joseph Kovalchik announced to administrators and school directors at the March 27 NASD board of education meeting.

The board voted Jan. 23 to authorize the administration to advertise that it planned to seek approval from PDE for exceptions.

“The administration never recommended that we exceed our index,” said Kovalchik at the March 27 meeting.

NASD has received PDE approval of exceptions in previous years, but in the seven years that Kovalchik has been presenting the district budget, the administration has never implemented them. Reasons for exceptions typically include costs for special education and pensions.

The NASD administration applied to the PDE for exceptions from the 2017-18 state-mandated index for NASD of a 3.1-percent tax increase ceiling.

This would allow the district to raise taxes more than 3.1 percent. The 2017-18 budget calls for a 3.47-percent tax hike.

Kovalchik said he and NASD Business Administrator Terry Leh plan to update the board about the 2017-18 NASD budget at the next school board meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. April 10 in the administration building, 2014 Laubach Ave.

The board voted Jan. 23 to approve the NASD 2017-18 preliminary budget, which calls for millage to increase 1.78 mills, from 51.24 mills to 53.02 mills.

Based on 2016’s average property assessment in NASD of $58,094, the average annual tax bill would be $3,080.14 for the 2017-18 school year, up from the $2,976.74 average annual tax bill for the 2016-17 school year.

The tax hike will result in taxpayers paying on average $103.41 more annually, $8.62 more monthly and $1.99 more weekly.

The 2017-18 preliminary budget, as first presented at the Jan. 9 school board meeting, has expenditures of $102,814,673, revenues of $97,102,316 and a deficit of $5,712,357.

To offset the revenue shortfall, in addition to the millage increase, $875,000 would be taken from the committed fund balance and $2,920,000 from the unassigned fund balance.

The budget figures are based on information presented at the January board meetings. The budget figures could change at the April 10 meeting and after. School districts must approve budgets by June 30 each year.

Also approved by the school board Jan. 23 was the athletic fund, $212,034, and food service fund, $2,413,955.

An unknown in budget deliberations for NASD and districts across the commonwealth is the potential repeal of property tax, which largely funds local public school education.

Senate Bill and House Bill 76 would “completely eliminate” the taxing ability of local school boards. The exception would be a local EIT or personal income tax for new school construction, subject to a no-exception taxpayer referendum.

The proposal to eliminate property tax failed to pass by one vote in the Senate in 2015. A similar bill failed in the House in 2013.

NASD expects to receive approximately 30 percent, or $30.7 million, of its 2017-18 budget from the commonwealth. About 65 percent, or $54 million, of the annual district budget is funded by property taxes.

Bill 76 is projected to raise more than $11 billion in the commonwealth by eliminating the property tax but raising other taxes.

Under the bill, state personal income tax would increase from 3.07 percent to 4.34 percent, state sales and use tax would increase from 6 percent to 7 percent, and the sales tax base would be expanded for more goods and services.

The Property Tax Independence Act, as it’s called, would fund school districts from the commonwealth, dollar for dollar, at the same level. Presumably, each district would be funded at the level of its latest annual budget. With that in mind, the thinking goes, approving exceptions could provide a higher budget baseline for future allocations from the commonwealth. Some on the NASD board have conjectured that approving the PDE-granted exceptions might better position the district for future commonwealth allocations if Bill 76 is approved.

In other business at the March 27 board meeting, school directors voted 8-0 to approve, at the recommendation of the administration:

• Resignation of Zachary Marlatt, assistant wrestling coach, effective March 21;

• Lori Rehrig, paid FMLA leave of absence, for medical reasons, March 28-April 3, and unpaid FMLA leave, April 4-May 9, with insurance;

• Lori Emery, paid childbearing leave of absence, May 30-June 5, and unpaid FMLA childbearing leave, June 5-end of 2016-17 school year, with insurance;

• summer school instructors and reimbursements based on supplemental reimbursement for extra services, curriculum and instruction, June 19-July 27;

• Northampton Area High School Big “N” Band Director James J. Sansone, 47 students and 12 chaperones to travel to Williamsburg, Va., April 6-9, at a cost not to exceed $400, covered in the NASD 2016-17 curriculum budget.