C-K budget includes tax hike

Board approves rate increase that will cost homeowners about $80 more per year

CLAYSBURG -- Homeowners within the Claysburg-Kimmel School District will see their annual property taxes increase by an average of $80 as the school board voted 4-3 to adopt its 2024-25 final budget on Wednesday evening.

Board members Amy Claar-Gill, Richard Gergely, Roger Knisely and Jeremy Knott voted in favor of adopting the budget, while Mandi Daugherty, Mona Eckley and Daniel Potter voted against. Members Heidi Kennedy and Joseph Musselman were absent.

The 2024-25 final budget reflects a property tax increase to the full Act 1 Index limit of 7.7%, which will cost the average homeowner about $0.22 a day or $1.52 a week per household and generate about $321,740 in revenue, according to business manager Dena Burket.

By raising taxes to the limit, Greenfield and Kimmel townships' millage rates will be increased to 9.76 and 11.71 mills, respectively.

The preliminary budget reflects total estimated expenditures of $14,651,863, total estimated revenue of $14,289,667 and a deficit of $362,196.

It also includes $100,000 from budgetary reserves, with the remaining balance being made up from the district's fund balances. The estimated revenue does not include any state funding.

Gov. Josh Shapiro's budget has passed the state House but has yet to be voted on in the Senate.

Title 1 funding cut

In other matters, Superintendent Brian Helsel told the board that the district would be receiving about $17,000 less in Title 1 funding for the upcoming school year.

"That's the reality of being a public school district," Helsel said. "So we have systems in place within the budget that will absorb that $17,000. It's just another $17,000 that we thought we would have for something else."

Helsel said the district would also be receiving less funding from its transportation subsidy.

"Basically, they blamed it on COVID," Helsel said. "They go by averages and because of the COVID years, it threw the average off in terms of transportation costs. So for the last payment of transportation costs, we're going to receive only 38% of the final payment."

For Claysburg, that amount comes out to about $26,000, but it could still receive those funds once the 2024-25 budget is enacted, Helsel said.

"We're being told that money will be reimbursed and we're going to hinge on that and hopefully that takes place," Helsel said.

Mirror Staff Reporter Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.