YATESVILLE — The Pittston Area School Board voted not to seek an exemption from the Act 1 Taxpayers Relief Act at its monthly meeting Tuesday night.

The Act 1 index is calculated by the state Department of Education and does not allow taxes to be raised above 3.4 percent.

District Business Manager Al Malone Jr. told those at the meeting the district’s 2017-18 budget, which will be completed during the summer, may have anywhere from no tax raise to a 3.4 percent hike.

“There’s six months in between so a lot of it is going to depend on what happens these next six months,” Malone said. “If there were a need to raise taxes, then we would not exceed the amount indicated.

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“It’s just a requirement by the state, and we’re doing everything we can to keep things under control the best we can.”

Prior to the regular meeting, students from the Martin F. Quinn Primary Center gave a quick presentation to the school board members and thanked them for their services in regards to January being designated as School Director Recognition Month.

The students handed out pictures and thank you notes to the members. Afterwards, president Kent Bratlee was honored by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) for his eight years of service while Martin Quinn was honored for his 24 years of service.

In other business, the board:

• Approved a resolution from the Pennsylvania School Board Association, designating January as School Director Recognition Month.

• Appointed Staci Giarratano full-time business office secretary.

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By Jimmy Fisher

jfisher@timesleader.com

WHATS NEXT

The next Pittston Area School Board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 21 in the high school library.

Reach Jimmy Fisher at 570-704-3972 or on Twitter @SD_JimmyFisher