Midd-West School District's tentative spending plan raises taxes

Marcia Moore, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
·1 min read

May 20—MIDDLEBURG — The Midd-West School Board on Monday will vote on a preliminary budget of $41.2 million for 2022-23 that carries a tax increase of 2.5 mill increase.

Board President Victor Abate said the finance committee will meet prior to Monday's 7 p.m. public meeting to review the spending plan before bringing a final budget to the board.

As of Thursday, the spending plan for next school year was at $41,263,055 and included an increase of 2.5 mills. Each mill represents about $178,000.

If adopted, the tax hike would raise the average property tax bill in the district by $48.71, business Manager Ryan Wagner said.

Rising costs, including salaries, cyber school and special education, attributed to the increase, said Abate.

"There's not much we could do about that. We can not absorb those costs," he said.

The board has not raised taxes in several years despite plans to, Superintendent Joe Stroup said, however, the closure of Wood-Mode Inc. in May 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic caused the directors to keep the same tax rate.

The board will also vote Monday on a new four-year teachers contract, of which about two-thirds of the faculty will receive pay increases and others will receive a retention bonus based on years of service, Stroup said.