In keeping in line with the Pennsylvania Tax Payer Relief Act of 2006, more commonly known as Act 1, the Abington School Board approved the district’s 2011-12 proposed preliminary budget last week.

The $131.79 million proposed preliminary budget is up 1.25 percent over the 2010-11 installment. And the proposed preliminary budget assumes a use of about $8.38 million in fund balance, and a millage rate increase of 1.4 percent, as per the Pennsylvania Department of Education's 2011-12 index.

The millage rate would jump from 27.8 mills to 28.18 mills, and would generate about $888,000.

Though a millage increase of 1.4 percent would bring in more revenue, business manager Chris Lionetti said that the county has been granting “a lot of downward reassessments” on properties. He estimated that the school district would lose about $240,000 on reassessments, though the updated figures won’t be known until June, he said.

And the school district — like many of its residents — has seen a reduction in interest earnings to the tune of $200,000, budget to budget.

If this budget were to pass as-is in June, a homeowner with a house assessed at $141,130 (the average assessment of a house in the school district) would see an increase of about $54 in his or her tax bill, brining the annual cost up to $3,977.

However, due to a reduction in Sterling Tax credits, a homeowner with a $141,130 house would pay an additional $44 on top of the additional $54 — something the school board can’t control.

“My concern in looking at this budget is that based on what I am hearing, the impact on the average household would not only be the $54 increase from us, but also an additional increase of $44 because of the reduced Sterling Credit,” Abington School Board President Raymond McGarry said. “So the average household in Abington, based on this budget would see an increase of $97— almost $100, which is not insignificant.”

McGarry, who said the task of passing a budget is the hardest job for a school board member, asked the board what we could be done to tighten expenses without touching current programs. It was more of a rhetorical question, as no one answered; the board will discuss the budget at its next meeting. However, McGarry said if there were no millage increase, the board would have to pare the budget by almost $890,000.

The 2011-12 budget is far from being complete. Superintendent Amy Sichel said the proposed preliminary budget is chock full of assumptions. The school district does not have nailed down figures for federal and state contributions.

“With today’s economic picture, we cannot make predictions in January [as well] as we can in June,” she said.

The school board will likely review and approve the preliminary budget at its Feb. 8 meeting.