MILTON – Some big tax increases are coming to the Milton Area School District.
The school board voted Tuesday night to approve the 2015/2016 budget, but the passage did come with a high cost to taxpayers. Northumberland County property owners in the district will see a 7.6% increase in real estate taxes (to 59.02 mills) and Union County property owners in the district will see a 6.4% increase (to 13.25 mills). The nearly $32-million budget was approved with one ‘no’ vote from Rodney Noll.
As part of an effort to balance the budget, a motion to eliminate one full-time music position failed by a 5-4 vote. Empassioned speeches from local parents and former teachers preceded the motion. The people were asking the board to keep Brett Hosterman as a full-time employee of the music program.
Sarah Kitchens, a parent of a Milton band student, asked that the board think long and hard about this decision, “Not every kid fits into the academic program, the sports program. They need their nitch and you take a person away from them that they love and that they look up to, you’re not going to get somebody to fill their shoes easily.”
Citing declining enrollment. the board did eliminate a secretary position and reduce three full-time employees to half-time status. The affected individuals are a building trades instructor, a high school French teacher, and an early childhood teacher. (John Brunner)