The Northampton Area School District 2025-26 proposed final budget has been adopted with a 4% tax increase and continued funding of Northampton Area Public Library.

NASD Board of Education voted 5-3 to approve the 2025-26 proposed general fund budget of $140,659,873, with a rate of 58.52 mills, and to authorize the administration to advertise and make the proposed budget available for public inspection.

School Director Dr. Michael Baird made the motion, seconded by school Director John Becker, to bring the proposed budget to a vote during the board meeting May 12. Voting to approve the proposed budget were school Directors Ross Makary, Doug Vaughn, Parker Flamisch, Becker and Baird. Voting to not approve the proposed budget were school Directors Joshua Harris, Brian McCulloch and board President Kristin Soldridge. Board Vice President Nathan Lichtenwalner was absent.

In a separate vote, the school board voted 5-3 to not eliminate or reduce the amount of funding of the public library from the $270,000 in the 2025-26 proposed district budget.

Becker made the motion, seconded by Vaughn, to bring the motion to not eliminate or reduce the amount by zero dollars of the funding for NAPL from $270,000 in the 2025-26 proposed district budget. Voting to approve funding of the library were Makary, Vaughn, Flamisch, Becker and Baird. Voting against were Harris, McCulloch and Soldridge.

The May 12 meeting was the first on the school board for Flamisch, who was appointed by the board April 30 to succeed Kim Bretzik, who resigned.

The NASD proposed final 2025-26 budget needed to be approved at the May 12 school board meeting in order for it to be advertised and be available for public inspection for 30 days prior to the final budget vote, as per state law. The final vote is expected to be on the agenda of the next board meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. June 16 in the auditorium at Northampton Area High School, 1619 Laubach Ave. School districts are required by law to approve budgets by June 30.

The NASD proposed final 2025-26 budget is expected to be posted on the NASD website, nasdschools.org, and available to read in person at the district administration building, 2014 Laubach Ave.

In his final 2025-26 budget presentation at the May 12 board meeting, NASD Business Administrator Craig Neiman reviewed the 2025-26 budget deficit history, which was reportedly $6,259,264, as of the Jan. 13 board meeting, when the budget was unveiled. There were $3,140,560 in deficit reductions, as of the April 14 board meeting, and $638,451 in deficit increases, as of the May 12 meeting.

The 4% tax hike would generate $3,201,288 in revenue. The millage increase would be 2.25 mills. As of the May 12 presentation, the deficit would be $555,867.

At the May 12 meeting, school directors voted 8-0 to accept the Taxpayer Relief Act (Casino Gaming Funds) of the 2025-26 property tax reduction allocation at $2,554,848.68 to reduce property taxes and set the homestead-farmstead exclusion at the same fixed amount. This would lower the typical tax bill for district properties in the homestead-farmstead program. There are 12,827 properties and 70 farms in the homestead act in the district. The typical tax increase would be $110.93. The NASD tax increase has been $137.04 over five years or an average of $27.41 per year.

NASD has funded NAPL since at least the mid- to late-1960s, it was stated at the May 12 meeting. The library, 1615 Laubach Ave., is adjacent to the district’s secondary campus of NAHS, Northampton Area Middle School and Al Erdosy Memorial Stadium.

In her presentation at the May 12 meeting, NAPL Director Veronica LaRoche said the library doesn’t have the authority to collect taxes. LaRoche listed NAPL revenue for 2025-26 as: $270,000, NASD, 52%; $138,436.84, state, 27%; $33,734, municipalities, 7%; $38,000, donations and fundraising, 7%; $36,225, other, 7%. LaRoche listed NAPL expenditures for 2025-26 as: $349,300, staffing, 68%; $34,350, facilities, 7%; $62,500, collections, 12%; $11,250, supplies, 2%; $30,350, technology, 6%; $5,500, programming, 1%; $23,145.84, miscellaneous, 4%.

“We are asking for flat funds,” LaRoche said of the district’s contribution. “We have not asked for an increase for the last five years.”

Under consideration is establishing a committee, with Flamisch, Harris and McCulloch volunteering, to serve as liaison between the school board and library board to improve communication and fiscal responsibility.

LaRoche said the library contingency plan, should NASD funding be withdrawn, would be for a ballot referendum on funding the public library by municipalities.

Harris again advocated funding the public library by municipalities and not by the school district.