Jun 26, 2013 3 min read

McMURRAY – Property owners in Peters Township will see their school taxes jump by 1.7 mills after the school board voted Monday to raise the taxes by the highest amount permitted without seeking permission from the state.

That means a taxpayer who currently pays $2,000 annually in school taxes will see an increase of more than $50. Those paying $4,000 each year will pay an additional amount of about $120.

The $53,262,952 budget for the 2013-14 school year was not adopted unanimously. Voting against the budget and millage increase were board members Lori Cuervo, David Hvizdos and Lynn Erenberg, who voted via Skype. Cuervo lost her bid for re-election in the spring primary, and Hvizdos is one of five candidates running for four seats on the school board in November.

Voting for the budget and increase were board members Thomas McMurray, William Merrell, Sandra Gregg, Ron Dunleavy, Sue Smith and Cindy Golembiewski. Smith was nominated and will appear on both tickets in November; Golembiewski lost her bid for re-election. The millage rate is currently 102 mills.

Increases in spending for special education, pension contributions and contractual salaries are among the reasons the tax increase was necesaary, said Shelly Belcher, district spokeswoman.

Additionally, the technology budget was approved, also by a vote of 6-3, in the amount of $1,072,972, which excludes salaries and benefits. The curriculum budget was approved for $352,024, and the capital projects budget was approved in the amount of $2,481,552.

There was no discussion as to why board members voted for or against.

The board unanimously awarded a bid to D.C. Installations Inc. for partial window replacement at McMurray Elemenatry School in the amount of $29,850. Also, the board voted unanimously to approve a change order requested by HHSDR for $77,918 to remove a layer on the high school stadium turf for the replacement project, and an additional $5,690 for additional changes.

Dagistino Electric Services Inc. was awarded a contract for $104,824 to replace the district’s phone system, funded through the capital projects portion of the budget.

When approving the list for winter coaches, the board discussed whether Jamison Hardy could be approved as a volunteer assistant coach for high school wrestling. Hardy will be one of five candidates running for four open school board seats in November.

After consulting with the district’s solicitor, Jack Cambest, it was determined Hardy could be appointed as a volunteer assistant coach. However, if he is elected in November, Cambest said Hardy should abstain from voting on any issued related to the wresting team.