The proposed 2015-16 Preliminary General Fund Budget for Northampton Area School District of $95,188,570 includes a tax increase of 2.52 percent that the superintendent already hopes to reduce.

The proposed general fund budget is $3,596,417 more than the 2013-15 budget of $91,592,153, for an increase of 3.93 percent.

The proposed budget has a millage rate of 50.12, up from 48.89 mills, for an increase of 2.52 percent.

Based on the average NASD property assessment of $57,761.38, the tax would be $2,895, up from $2,823.95, for an increase of $71.05 annually, $5.92 monthly, and $1.37 weekly.

The state-allowed percentage of tax increase, or index, is 2.3 percent for NASD.

"We wanted to come in as realistic as we could," NASD Superintendent of Schools Joseph Kovalchik said. "We'll get those numbers below the index."

"We're getting more realistic in presenting the budget, compared to years past," NASD school board President David Gogel said.

"Pension costs and health-care costs are driving the increase," Kovalchik said during the one-hour budget presentation Jan. 14 by himself and NASD Business Administrator Terry Leh.

Kovalchik said that $89,846,966, or 94 percent, of the general fund budget is nondiscretionary. In other words, the district is locked into these costs.

The budget was unveiled for a first reading before the NASD board of education at a special Wednesday night meeting because the Monday night meeting was postponed because of a threat of freezing rain.

"I think it's fair," Gogel said of the proposed budget to The Press after the meeting. "We're going to get below the index."

"The administration did a great job. They really looked at all angles as to what we can work with," NASD school board Vice President Jennifer Miller said after the meeting.

"They're [the administration] going to do as much as they can as they have in the past to get that number [percentage increase] down," Miller added.

"It's a realistic budget. And we want to get it lower. At least we're in the ballpark," Kovalchik said after the meeting.

The proposed budget includes the hiring of seven new personnel, mainly to handle more students expected in the larger 270,000-square-feet new Northampton Area Middle School set to open in the fall. The old middle school is 160,000-square feet.

The new school will handle the influx of sixth graders, bringing the number of middle school students to an estimated, 1,300. The new middle school will house sixth, seventh and eighth grades. The old middle school handles seventh and eighth grades.

Also, approximately 100 more students are expected in the fall at Northampton Area High School, with enrollment to increase to an estimated 1,900.

Kovalchik is asking the board to approve one additional middle school security guard.

He also seeks an additional middle school health instructional aide. There is now only one middle school nurse. The high school has two nurses and a health instruction aide.

Kovalchik also seeks three additional middle school professional staffers.

And he wants two additional high school professional staffers: one each for math and English to bolster students' Keystone exams performance.

NASD professional staff has gone down from 401 in 2012 to 373 as of 2015, through retirements and attrition, but no layoffs. Total district staff went from 678 in 2012 down to 640 in 2015, a reduction of 38, also with no layoffs.

The proposed budget is expected to be on the agenda of the 6:30 p.m. Jan. 26 school board meeting in the District Administration Building, 2014 Laubach Avenue, Northampton.

Kovalchik said he will seek board-approval of the preliminary budget at that meeting.

Pennsylvania school districts must approve budgets by July 1.

The NASD administration plans to ask the school board, also at the Jan. 26 meeting, to approve the district to file for an exception with the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to exceed the index, or the allowed 2.3 percent tax hike.

Kovalchik said he hopes for PDE approval of the exception by April 13.

The board and PDE approved the application for an exception last year, which the administration did not implement, for the 2014-15 school budget.

Of the 2015-16 general fund budget, by function area, it's $55,583,130, or 58.39 percent, for Instruction; $28,366,236, or 29.80 percent, for Support Services; $9,889,997, or 10.39 percent, for Debt Service-Transfers, and $1,349,207, or 1.42 percent, for Non-Instructional Services.

Of the 2015-16 general fund budget, the largest portions are Salaries and Benefits, $62,302,18, or 65.45 percent, with Salaries,$38,208,372, or 40.14 percent, and Benefits, $24,693,796, or 25.31 percent.

Revenues for the 2015-'16 general fund budget are: Local Taxes, 66.29 percent; State Revenues, 29.40 percent; and Federal, 1.22 percent.

The 2015-16 NASD Athletic Budget is $179,120, for an increase of 3.2 percent.

The 2015-16 NASD Food Services Budget is $2,370,376, for a decrease of 0.5 percent.

Student lunch prices will be $1.95, elementary, up from $1.90, for a 2.6 percent increase, and $2.15, secondary, up from $2.10, for a 2.4 percent increase.

It was noted that, to date, $57,979,000 has been spent of the $80,720,575 Middle School and Secondary Campus Renovation Project budget.

The 82-page 2015-16 preliminary general budget document is available on the NASD web site, northampton.k12.pa.us. Go to the district Business Office tab and click on the Budget PDF file.