ADAMS TWP — Mars Area School District residents should know next Tuesday if their taxes will go up by another mill.

The millage proposal will be voted on at next week’s June 10 school board meeting, along with a finalized budget proposal of over $65 million for the 2025-26 academic year.

The board previously voted in favor of sending the budget proposal — $65,399,802 — forward to the 30-day public inspection period on May 6. The budget, which would increase by over $2.5 million from last year, would be passed along with a 1-mill real estate tax increase. This would set the overall millage rate at 110 mills, beginning on July 1.

A mill is equal to a $1 tax increase for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value.

There was no comment on the impending budget vote at the board’s June 3 work session. Previously, the board voted 6-2 in favor of moving forward with the budget proposal. Board members John Kennedy and Aaron Rose were the no votes. Anthony DePretis, Kevin Hagen, Justin Miller, Lee Ann Riner, Jennifer DiCuccio and Matthew Duff were in favor.

This would be the third year in a row the board voted to increase the millage rate. Last year, the rate rose by 3.474 mills.

A third year of increases was the main reason Rose gave for his no vote last month.

“The board has always found a way to balance the budget, and not increase taxes, so we are not in a unique time. A third tax increase in a row, not something I’ll vote for, and hopefully between now and when we pass the final budget we can find a way to not pass on a deficit to the taxpayer,” Rose said May 6.

The final proposal would have the district pull about $1.4 million from its existing fund balance to make up the deficit between expenditures and revenue.

The proposed budget’s expenditures are largely made up of salary and benefits payments for faculty. Slightly over $45.6 million, or 69.7%, would go to those two categories, with $27.2 million going to salaries. Health insurance makes up nearly another $6.4 million of spending. That increase is due to insurance premium rates increasing by 24.82%, something districts across Butler County have been dealing with.

Debt service payments make up another 10.2% of expenditures, while various purchased services make up another 10.7%. Debbie Brandstetter, the district’s business manager, said last month a portion of the debt service payments would go toward a second bond issue for the elementary school renovation project, which is now expected to start sometime around October.

According to Brandstetter, additional existing taxes will remain unchanged in 2025-26 with a .5% real estate transfer tax, a .5% earned income tax and a $10 occupational privilege tax.