Plum real estate owners will likely be paying 2.26% more in property taxes to the school district next school year.

The Plum School Board on Tuesday approved its tentative 2025-26 budget, which would increase the tax rate from 23.3896 mills to 23.9159 mills.

That increase is partially the result of board discussions in favor of smaller incremental tax hikes rather than large tax hikes like this school year’s 6.2% bump.

The board is proposing a budget with total revenue and expenditures set at about $77.6 million, which is about a $3.3 million increase from this school year’s budget.

After initially eyeing a 2.5% tax increase to mitigate the effects of inflation, the board cut that number by about one-quarter of a percent to 2.26%. That is well below the state limit of 5.3%, which the board voted not to surpass in December.

That means for a home at the school district’s median assessed value of $117,500, a 2.26% increase would increase the annual tax bill by $62 to about $2,810, before any exclusions or discounts are applied.

School Director Mark Stropkaj, the board’s lead finance liaison, said the board decreased the initial 2.5% by working with administration to “tighten up operations.”

Ultimately, he said, the budget will not cut any personnel or programs.

The bulk of the budget is slotted toward salaries and benefits for district employees, totaling more than $53 million. Another $8.7 million will go toward debt service payments.

As for revenue, the preliminary budget projects about $42.5 million from local sources, around $1.6 million more than the current budget; $32 million from state sources, around $1.8 million more than the current budget; and about $753,000 from federal sources, about $82,000 less than the current budget.

Stropkaj said the district took a “conservative approach” to funding because of uncertainties and timing regarding state and federal funding.

“I also want our taxpayers to know that this board and administration would like nothing better than not to have to raise taxes,” he said. “Through our decision-making, though, we are making positive impacts not only for today but for future boards and administrations.”

Before the vote, Plum Superintendent Rick Walsh said the budget “prioritizes maintaining all current academic and extracurricular programs.”

The district, he said, is also committed to fiscal responsibility and will carefully monitor expenditures and search for cost-saving measures and “alternative revenue sources.”

“By balancing these priorities, we aim to provide a stable and enriching educational environment to all students while also being held accountable to the community for the effective use of every tax dollar,” Walsh said.

The board will take its final vote on the budget May 27.