FOREST CITY - There will be no staffing or programming cuts, but the Forest City Regional School District 2013-14 proposed budget will include a tax increase.
The $12,543,141 proposed budget was adopted unanimously at a school board meeting Monday. The final budget will be adopted in June.
The district draws students from Lackawanna, Susquehanna and Wayne counties, and tax rates are calculated differently for each county. In Lackawanna, taxes would increase to 86.83 mills, an increase of $18.19 for the average household. Residents of Wayne County will see an average increase of $15.54 and a tax rate of 15.61 mills. In Susquehanna, the tax rate will rise to 37.68 mills, increasing the average tax bill by $27.52. A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of assessed property value.
The increase will generate about $75,000 in revenue for the district, according to Superintendent John Kopicki.
The budget also reflects $246,000 more in contributions to the state retirement fund, compared to the previous year. The increase is required by the state.
"You want to be very careful that you are accounting for every expenditure and making sure everything ties into student achievement," he said.
Mr. Kopicki also pointed out that teachers will begin contributing to their health care premiums in 2014-15, which will help the district. The district's debt service will also drop over the next few years.
"We are in good financial shape," he said of the overall outlook.
In other business, the board approved the district's $296,749 payment to Lackawanna County Career Technology Center for the 2013-14 school year. The contribution is about $20,500 more than the district paid last year and is based on the number of students, according to board president Mary Emmett.
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