Four options are on the table to balance the 2023-24 preliminary general fund budget in Northampton Area School District.

The NASD Board of Education is expected to consider the options at the next school board meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. April 17 in the Northampton Area High School auditorium, 1619 Laubach Ave., Northampton.

Each option would use varying amounts from the district fund balance to reduce or eliminate a tax hike to close the $1,896,575 deficit in the 2023-24 preliminary general fund budget.

One of the options would result in no tax increase for NASD property owners.

The NASD 2023-24 preliminary general fund budget, as presented Jan. 9, has expenditures of $127,918,870 and revenues of $126,077,545. The amounts changed slightly in the March 13 presentation. The deficit at the Jan. 9 presentation was $1,841,325. The deficit at the March 13 presentation increased $55,250 to $1,896,575.

NASD Superintendent of Schools Joseph S. Kovalchik outlined the four options to eliminate the deficit in a 2023-24 updated preliminary general fund budget presentation at the March 13 board meeting:

• For a 2%, or $1,344,000 increase of 1.12 mills, $552,575 would be used from the fund balance for an average annual taxpayer increase of $70.

• For a 1.5%, or $1,008,0000 increase of 0.84 mills, $888,575 would be used from the fund balance for an average annual taxpayer increase of $53.

• For a 1%, or $672,000 increase of 0.56 mills, $1,224,575 would be used from the fund balance for an average annual taxpayer increase of $35.

• For no increase, $1,896,575 would be used from the fund balance.

Kovalchik also reviewed 2023-24 preliminary budget updates, including revenue, with $500,000 of increased revenue, and possible new personnel, with nine new positions.

The fund balance is $19 million, Kovalchik reported. This includes the assigned fund balance of $6,013,724; Route 329 project or renovation, $1 million; miscellaneous capital projects, $1 million; Employee Benefits Trust of Eastern Pennsylvania, $0; contracts, $1.2 million; balance budget, $1,896,575; restricted fund balance (Lehigh Ele-mentary School project escrow), $917,149; and unassigned fund balance, $11.5 million.

Key differences in the March 13 fund balance presentation, compared to the Jan. 9 presentation, is that the assigned fund balance has increased $13,724, Employee Benefits Trust of Eastern Pennsylvania decreased from $1 million to $0, contracts increased $200,000, balance budget decreased $103,425, and the restricted fund balance decreased $182,851.

In Kovalchik’s budget presentation Jan. 9, he noted Fund Balance Policy 620, adopted by the NASD school board Sept. 13, 2010, requires the district to maintain an unassigned general fund balance of no less than 5% and no more than 8% of budgeted expenditures.

For comparison, 2010-11 NASD budgeted expenditures were $84.8 million with a 5% unassigned fund balance of $4.2 million. For 2023-24 preliminary budget expenditures of $127.9 million, a 5% unassigned fund balance would be $6.4 million, a 4% unassigned fund balance would be $5.1 million, and a 3% unassigned fund balance would be $3.8 million.

Based on the presentation Jan. 9, if $1,841,325 would be taken from the unassigned fund balance, there would be $6,158,657 in the unassigned fund balance. That would put the unassigned fund balance slightly under the minimum 5% fund balance of $6.4 million.

The board would need to address Policy 620, which it passed in 2010, and which prohibits the unassigned fund balance from being less than 5%.

The 2023-24 preliminary budget presentation update can be viewed at drive.google.com/file/d/1LDMbjngGQFZoANyOgfLailFhmM579iB_/view.