ORWIGSBURG — The Blue Mountain school board approved next year’s school budget with no tax increase Thursday along with policies regarding the use of naloxone.
The unanimously approved budget for the 2016-17 school year has revenues at $40,024,168 and expenses at $40,765,577, with the difference of $741,409 coming from the reserve account. The district estimates having an unassigned fund balance of $4,566,872 by the end of the next school year.
Superintendent David Helsel said the district is challenged to balance the needs of its students with the fiscal resources of the school.
“We do everything we can to be responsible stewards of those resources,” Helsel said.
The millage rate stays at 37.254 mills. Each mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of the assessed value. The last tax increase for the district was in the 2014-15 school year.
The board also unanimously adopted policy No. 823 that provides guidelines for using naloxone, a life-saving medication that blocks the effects of heroin and opiates on the brain. A school nurse is responsible for the upkeep and administration of the drug. It also provides requirements on what steps to follow if there is a suspected drug overdose, where the naloxone is stored and other requirements such as notifying law enforcement when applicable.
“If we can save a life, we are going to save a life,” Helsel said Thursday.
The district will start stocking the naloxone for the next school year. The school still has to apply to the state Department of Health for the free carton of nasal spray, which is being provided to all Pennsylvania public schools by Adapt Pharma.
Nurses in the district have already undergone the required training to administer naloxone.