Knoch board approves preliminary budget; no tax increase included
JEFFERSON TWP — At Wednesday night’s meeting, the Knoch School Board approved the district’s preliminary budget which holds the line on taxes for the upcoming 2023-24 school year.
The preliminary budget was presented to the school board by district business manager Jamie Van Lenten at last week’s work session.
The school board approved the preliminary budget unanimously by a 9-0 vote.
Expenditures in the preliminary 2023-24 budget amount to $38,457,999, while revenue comes out to $38,407,191. This means that the preliminary 2023-24 school budget ends with a slight deficit of $50,808. However, Van Lenten said she is confident that Knoch will be able to present a balanced budget by the time a finalized version is ready to be presented next month.
"That should be between now and next meeting,“ said Van Lenten.
Most notably, the preliminary budget includes no increase to the district’s current real estate tax rate of 94.275 mills, where it has remained since 2018. Both Van Lenten and district superintendent David Foley ensured that there are no plans for the district to add a rate hike when they finalize the budget.
Expenditures are projected to rise by $166,926 in the 2023-24 budget, which can mostly be attributed to proposed 3% salary increases for school employees.
Among the district’s financial goals for the upcoming school year will be to staff its planned full-day kindergarten which will commence next fall.
The district will post the preliminary budget on its website for public inspection later this week, and it will stay up for a total of 30 days. State law requires that preliminary budgets must stay available for public inspection in some form for at least 20 days prior to adoption. Due to the calendar, it will be nearly a month before the school board meets again.
The school board will next meet June 7 for the monthly work session, during which the board will consider and act upon whatever feedback they receive from the public.
“Between now and the next work session, Ms. Van Lenten and I will be working on any changes that may come up before we give the final budget to the board at the work session,” Foley said. “If any feedback is provided by the public, I will share that information with the board so they are aware before they make their final vote.”
All school districts in Pennsylvania must adopt a final budget for the upcoming school year by June 30.
