Plum property owners can expect to pay about 3% more in taxes next year after the district school board voted 6-3 on Tuesday to pass its 2026-27 budget.

The budget takes the district millage rate from 23.9159 mills to 24.6190 mills, meaning for a home at the school district’s median assessed value of about $118,000, the annual tax bill will jump by $83 to about $2,905, before any exclusions or discounts are applied.

Superintendent Rick Walsh previously cited inflation and increasing operational costs across the district as the primary reasons for the increase.

Adam Hill, Tiffany Hyde, Jill Klipa, Renee Richardson, Geter Sloan Sloan and Mark Stropkaj voted in favor of the budget, while Lindsay Arenth, Michael Caliguiri and Michelle Stepnick voted against it.

The “no’s” were no surprise.

Arenth previously said the district needed to exercise more financial rigor after this year’s 2.26% tax bump.

In an email Wednesday, she said she supported investing in students and schools but that the district needs to better distinguish between needs and wants before raising taxes.

“This is the third year in a row our residents have been asked to reach deeper into their pockets, and that pattern demands a harder look at how we’re prioritizing spending,” she said.

Caliguiri, however, previously said he didn’t believe the budget went far enough. He said he hoped to raise taxes to the state index of 4.7% to avoid dipping into district reserves.

Stepnick previously told TribLive she would not vote in favor of the budget unless the district began firmer planning for the return of full-day kindergarten.

Stropkaj, the board’s finance chair, said the district could not afford to pass on financial burdens to future generations, especially as the district navigates a “highly challenging financial landscape” and infrastructure improvements throughout Plum schools.

“I want to be clear. I’m not a fan for raising taxes; I’m a fan for protecting our community’s assets and our future,” Stropkaj said. “The proposed budget proves that we can both be disciplined and visionary.”

The proposed budget has a $1 million deficit with revenues set at $79.7 million and expenditures pegged at $80.7 million. The district would use its fund balance to cover the deficit, which would pay for new buses, district Director of Finances and Operations John Zahorchak previously told TribLive.

A majority of revenues — 61.4% — are earmarked for employee salaries and benefits, while another 11.8% will go toward paying district debts.

Much of that debt is the result of a $30 million addition and renovations to O’Block Elementary School and other renovations at Plum Middle School. The district opted to borrow the $30 million over the course of three years, the last $10 million of which will come this year.

As for revenue, the preliminary budget projects about $45.1 million from local sources, around $900,000 more than the current budget; $33.5 million from state sources, around $830,000 more than the current budget; and about $908,000 from federal sources, about $153,000 more than the current budget.

About the tax hike

Here’s how a 2.94% tax increase will impact a home at Plum’s median assessed value of $118,000:

Current tax rate: 23.9159

Current tax bill: $2,822

Proposed tax rate: 24.6190

Proposed tax bill: $2,905

Increase: $83