Nazareth Area School District unveils final 2012-13 budget

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/nazareth/index.ssf/2012/05/nazareth_area_school_district_23.html FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES The Nazareth Area School District plans to eliminate 10 positions from the budget through attrition, including seven teachers and one administrator, officials said. The final 2012-13 budget was introduced at the school board meeting Monday night. The $68,315,784 budget raises taxes 1.9 percent. Taxes will go up 0.91 mills if the budget is approved. That's an increase of $91 for the owner of a home assessed at $100,000. One mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of a home's assessed value. The board will decide whether to adopt the budget May 21. Seventeen employees, including two administrators, 12 teachers and three support employees will have retired during 2011-2012 or the summer of 2012, including outgoing Superintendent Victor Lesky. One administrator will not be replaced, but five teachers will be replaced. The teachers have not taken an offer from the district to accept a wage freeze or salary reduction. “They have not offered any type of give-back,” Lesky said. “We’ve made the approach. We’ve sent the letter. … The administration and support staff did it last year, the teachers did not participate last year nor have they responded to our letter this year.” “The door is always open on this side,” he added. Some decreases include the transportation budget, capital projects, special education and costs for Northampton Community College. Total decreases total $873,805. With the proposed changes by Gov. Tom Corbett, the budget deficit increased to $923,581.