CLEARFIELD- A budget with a 3.16 mill increase was passed at Monday’s Clearfield Area School District board meeting. The tax hike brings the district millage rate to an even 98 mills. Business administrator Sam Maney said the district could have gone as high as 98.06, but chose instead to keep it at 98. The previous millage rate was 94.84.
One mill is projected to bring in about $130,000, provided 90 percent of taxes are collected, Maney said. This year’s general fund budget it $42,445,198. The capital projects fund budget is $740,100 and the cafeteria fund budget is $1,583,872.
Maney said they are still looking to apply to the program which will allow the school to offer free lunches to all students, so the cafeteria budget is expenditure only.
Other taxes set by the district include Earned Income Tax at 1 percent, Real Estate Transfer Tax of 1 percent and Local Services Tax of $5.
The board also addressed four items under new business.
At a 5-3 vote, the board approved appointing Terry Struble as acting School District Superintendent for up to one year effective July 1. Those voting no included Sue Mikesell, Randy Pataky and Shawna Rothrock. Phil Carr was absent from the meeting. When asked by Pataky about the ongoing search for a new superintendent, board president Larry Putt said that on advice of board solicitor Carl Beard the search has been suspended.
The board also voted to approve the sale of the Mill Road property that once housed the Clearfield Middle School to Penn Highlands Clearfield Hospital at a sale price of $150,000. The closing on the sale is expected to be Wednesday.
Approval for the administration to prepare and finalize documents pursuant to the transfer/sale of the Girard-Goshen Elementary School property was also given. Struble explained this just gives permission to continue the process of selling the property and when a buyer is found the matter will be brought back tot he board.
The board scheduled a special meeting for July 9 to open and either award a contract or reject all bids for paving of the driveway to the Junior/Senior High School. The bids are due by 2 p.m. July 9 and Struble said they are on a tight schedule, which is why he requested the special meeting. He said the goal is to get the paving done sometime in July, noting that the difficult schedule will require the contractor to work with the district.