During the committee meetings of Whitehall-Coplay School Board April 14, board members saw a presentation about the 2025-26 district budget. Whitehall-Coplay School District is looking at a tax increase of 5.3% for property owners.

This tax raise is part of a $103.2 million spending plan. Because of Act 1, the district can raise taxes 5.3%.

Act 1 was passed in the special session of the legislature in 2006. It requires school districts to seek voter approval for tax increases greater than the Act 1 index. Districts can get exceptions from this requirement if rate increases are needed to cover specific types of costs, such as special education expenditures and retirement contributions.

The district budget includes $59.9 million in local revenue, $34.9 million in state revenue and $1.5 million of federal revenue. The district also gets $30,000 in revenues from sales and insurance recoveries. This puts the budget at $96.3 million in revenues.

The meeting also included a request of approval for a three-day Lego STEM camp during the summer. There will be two sessions a day — 8:30-10 a.m. for Gockley Elementary School students and 10:30 a.m.-noon for Steckel Elementary School students. The camp runs July 21-23 at Gockley Elementary.

The district received the Legos through a grant. They will be used to teach key STEM concepts through Lego-based activities. The cost of the camp will be the hourly rate for two teachers. The camp will be free of charge for each student, and each opportunity will be open to the first 30 students who register. Families will be responsible for providing their own transportation to and from camp.

In other meeting news, Athletic Director Bob Hartman gave a presentation regarding girls wrestling.

“We would like to present to you today the opportunity to add a girls wrestling club to the 2025-26 athletic season,” Hartman said. “We want to be able to provide the opportunity and experience to them.”

Hartman explained that by creating a club, the district could grow the organization and hopefully grow to become a full team in the future.

“By starting a club, we could phase this appropriately and take it as it goes,” Hartman added.