Greater Latrobe School Board on Tuesday approved a 1-mill property tax increase to help raise local revenue for a final 2025-26 district budget of $68 million.

District business administrator Dan Watson had recommended a 2-mill hike to help Greater Latrobe prepare for future capital projects as it deals with school buildings that are decades old, save for Latrobe Elementary School.

Board members Tom Gockel, Heidi Kozar, Dr. Rhonda Laughlin, Merle L. Musick, Andrew Repko, Brad Toman and John Urban voted for an increase of half that amount, raising the tax rate to 89 mills. Opposed to the tax hike and the related budget were Merle D. Musick, who favored holding taxes at the current rate, and John Petrarca, who said he could only support an increase under 1 mill.

Several board members who supported the 1-mill hike said it should allow the district to proceed with replacement of the junior high roof and related metal panels — which have allowed ponding of water, resulting in leaks.

“At some point, we’ve got to get stuff done,” Gockel said of the roof replacement.

“I think we’re at a crossroads here,” Repko agreed.

The board members also awarded a contract of nearly $6.2 million for the roof project, but they tabled a motion that would have authorized consultant Siemens Industry to proceed with plans for replacing aging heating, ventilation and air conditioning units at the junior high.

Repko said the district will have to explore other funding options for the HVAC project after a proposed alternate tax increase of 1.5 mills failed to gain support. Repko and Gockel said the additional half-mill increase would have provided an additional down-payment toward financing that estimated $9 million project.

Each mill that is levied generates about $350,000 for the district and adds about $27 to the tax bill of the average homeowner, according to district officials.

Greater Latrobe last raised the tax rate in the 2023-24 school year, approving a 3-mill increase by a 5-4 vote.

One of the major expenditures that will be part of the new budget is an update of the English and language arts curriculum, at a cost of about $500,000.

The district also is paying $4 million annually toward the remaining debt on the construction of Latrobe Elementary School.

With student enrollment continuing to decline and 22 staffers having retired or resigned this school year, the district is set to eliminate seven instructional positions through attrition. The positions that are being cut are in the areas of elementary Spanish instruction — a program that is being terminated, gifted education, senior high math, science and social studies, junior high learning support and instructional coaching.

As a result, according to Watson, district expenditures on salaries will increase by just a little under $71,000, or by 0.25%.

Some residents in the audience objected to elimination of the gifted education position and of the elementary Spanish program.

Noting many district graduates are pursuing careers in health care, Aimee McIntyre said learning Spanish and other foreign languages would be an advantage in that field.

The amount of state funding the district will receive in the coming year has yet to be determined. According to Watson, the budget reflects an increase of close to $1.3 million in dollars from Harrisburg, based on the state budget proposal that was presented by Gov. Josh Shapiro.

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