Last month the Bethlehem Area School District began in-depth budget discussions in order to achieve a balanced budget by June.

Some of the budget goals include maintaining assets such as neighborhood schools, targeted class size, diverse curricular offerings, sustainable budgeting, and more.

In order to balance the budget, district officials need to find a way to overcome a $16.9 million deficit. The district is looking for ways to cut expenses with the least amount of impact on the students.

Superintendent Dr. Joseph Roy, along with a majority of the board, feels the district needs to raise taxes to the maximum 2.6 percent allowed under state law and any exceptions to the cap that are approved by the state.

The bus replacement program is being cut, along with funding to some middle school after-school program funding, as the grant that financed the programs has ended.

"We are doing everything we can within our programs to keep our costs as tight as they can be," said business manager Stacy Gober.

With the reductions that have been made since February when the budget was last discussed, the budget deficit has been cut to 4.7 million. The balance to be reduced by June is $4.5 million.

Some of the largest budget drivers are out of the districts hands. BASD is dealing with paying $41.2 million toward charter school tuition and employee pension costs, a $16.9 million increase over the current school year.

Roy said that BASD is cutting its own programs in order to fund the charter schools.

"There is only so much we can take out before what we don't have is going to send kids to charters," said BASD Board President Michael Facinetto.

During public comment members of the public cautioned the board to be careful cutting programs and raising taxes.

"I just want to make some points I think the board needs to consider over the next three months," said Irene Follweiler, a former board member. "There is a low tolerance in the community for cutting programs and raising taxes. That is a tough task."

At the April 14 BASD school board meeting Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jack Silva along with Russell Giordano appeared before the board to recommend program changes that would result in cutting 22 teaching positions .The state has to approve the program changes, and employees cannot be let go for economic reasons only.

Tentative budget adoption is scheduled for May 12 and final adoption is scheduled for June 16.