(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

On a rainy and cloudy night in New Brighton, the vision for the upcoming school year became a little clearer.

At Monday night’s school board meeting, the budget for the 2023-24 school year was officially approved. The new $27,907,797.30 budget will feature a real estate millage rate of 73.9627 within the district. Per Capita taxes under School Code 679 and Act 511 were each set at $5.00, as was the Occupational Privilege tax.

The budget was approved despite a continued lack of an announced budget from Harrisburg; a lack of communication not lost on Superintendent Dr. Joseph Guarino. “We have a legal requirement to pass our budget by June 30,” he stated. “We’re meeting our requirement, and of course we’re still waiting on them.”

Also approved by the board at Monday night’s meeting were a trio of contracts with KeySolution Educational Staffing for school psychologist, behavioral therapy, and speech pathology services. These contracts will run through Summer of 2024.

Scott Sullivan was officially hired as School Police Officer for the New Brighton School District, with a three-year contract carrying an annual salary of $65,000.

Several teachers were hired for the 2023-24 school year, including Michelle Keith (special education), Abbey Uebelacker (special education), Lindsay Aley (foreign language), Kaylin Clingensmith (art), Megan Alicandro (English), and Robert Wahl (science). Wahl’s hiring is pending emergency certification from the PDE, which must be sought after by the school district and maintained before the start of the 2025-26 school year.

The board will not meet in July; their next meeting is scheduled for August 14 at 7:30 PM in the Little Theater.