Bethlehem Area School District adopts $324.4M budget for next school year
The Bethlehem Area School Board approved its 2022-23 budget this week, with no increase in taxes
The board Monday voted unanimously to approve the $324.4 million budget. The school board has not raised taxes for three out of the past four years.
BASD’s millage rate is 58.45 in Northampton County and 18.32 in Lehigh County. For every $100 in assessed property value, homeowners living in in Northampton County pay $5.85 in taxes to the district. In Lehigh County, they pay $1.83.
The budget allocates $145 million for general education spending and $47.3 million for special education. The district will also pay $34.9 million in tuition to charter schools.
At a news conference last month, Superintendent Joseph Roy spoke about the burden charter school tuition places on his district. Spending on charter school tuition equals more than 80% of the $42.8 million budgeted from the state for basic education funding.
“The money that’s supposed to be coming to support our educational instructional programs really goes right back out the door,” he said at the news conference.
The district allocated $203 million — more than 60% of the budget — for employee salaries and benefits. Teachers will receive a raise of more than 3% for the 202223 school year before their early bird contract, which was approved last month, kicks in the following year.
BASD also expects to receive $51 million in federal funds targeted toward COVID-19 relief and addressing learning loss. The district will not use the funds for backfilling any operation deficits that remain in the future, such as utilities or baseline wages.
The district is waiting to see what it will receive from the state. Gov. Tom Wolf ’s budget proposes a $1.9 billion increase in education spending.
Bethlehem Area School Board President Michael Faccinetto called on the state Legislature to adopt a final budget that includes Wolf ’s proposed investment.
“When the state invests more money into education in an equitable manner, then districts like Bethlehem can more easily hold the line on taxes,” he said.
BASD’s budget assumes the state budget will have only 50% of the increase Wolf proposed for special education subsidies and Level Up (a program that designates money to the state’s poorest districts), and about 20% of the increase Wolf proposed for basic education funds.
The deadline for the state budget is June 30. If the district doesn’t get the money it expects, it would dip into its fund balance or reserves.