KARNS CITY — Karns City School Board approved a $26.8 million budget that does not raise taxes for the 2018-19 school year.

The budget, which the board approved Monday, includes slight increases in property assessment values in Butler and Armstrong counties due to assessment updates in those counties and slight decreases in the tax millage for all three counties in the school district.

Taxpayers won’t see a change in their tax bills because the assessment increases are offset by the millage decreases, said Eric Ritzert, district superintendent.

“Two of the counties, Armstrong and Butler, sent us updated assessment values. When we plugged those in, it actually decreased the millage slightly with the final budget. Taxpayers won’t see a change. As assessments go up, millage drops to keep it budget neutral,” Ritzert said. “The net effect on the taxpayer is no change.”

Lowering property taxes across the district to property offset assessment value increases is required by the State Tax Equalization Board, he said.

Butler’s millage was reduced from 91.95 mills, to 91.24 mills; Armstrong’s was reduced from 45.07 mills to 44.58 mills; and Clarion County’s millage was reduced from 46.87 mills to 45.02 mills.

In personnel business the board furloughed an elementary teacher due to an enrollment decline, but is expected to rescind the furlough at the July 23 meeting and assign him to work as a “go two” substitute for the 2018-19 school year.

Nicholas Stockert was furloughed from the fourth grade teaching position he held for a year, but is expected to have a job as an everyday substitute, Ritzert said.

The decrease in elementary enrollment was anticipated, but there are no teachers retiring or taking leaves that would have created an opening for Stockert, he said.

Retirements are anticipated before the start of the 2019-20 school year and there will be an opening for him then, Ritzert said.

“It’s the right thing to do and it will work out,” Ritzert said. “We’ve done that in the past. I credit our board for doing things like that.”

The board also set Ritzert’s salary for the coming school year at $125,967, a 2 percent increase over his current salary.

Ritzert, who is in the second year of his second, five-year contract, said his contract does not provide automatic pay raises and the board sets his pay every year.