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The Elanco school board voted Monday to accept $446,713 being provided this year under the state's 2006 Taxpayer Relief Act.
Last year, the board was the only one in the state that rejected the funds — about $440,000 in tax relief — because the money was generated through gambling.
Monday's vote was a technicality because Elanco voters last fall voted overwhelmingly to force the board's hand to accept the money.
The funds helped offset a steeper tax hike that would have been required from a $42.4 million budget that the board adopted Monday.
The spending plan for the 2009-10 school year calls for a 3.14 percent tax increase. The budget calls for the average property owner to pay an additional $53 in real-estate taxes for a property valued at $138,448.
But many of the 6,448 homeowners who elected to accept homestead tax-relief funds will see their tax bills decrease because each will receive a tax reduction of $66.41 from the slots money revenues.
Gov. Ed Rendell announced in April that $770 million will be available for tax reductions in 2009-10, based on the amount of slots revenue the state expects to generate by Oct. 15. That is an increase over the $613 million that was provided last year.
The expected distribution of $770 million is still less than the $1 billion Rendell promised slot machines would provide each year when he pushed to legalize them.
Elanco school board member Chuck Trupe, who led the opposition against accepting the slots money a year ago, remained adamant Monday that voters erred in accepting tax relief money.
Audience member Lisa Garrett heckled Trupe during his two-minute speech during which he denounced slots money.
"Move on, it's over, we've heard it all before," Garrett said before being ruled out of order by board president Loren Martin.
Four of the nine Elanco school board members would be up for re-election in November. Three of the four — Trupe, Martin and Rosanna Hersh — have decided not to seek re-election. The lone incumbent running is Alexander Sitar, who voted against rejecting the slots money.
Elanco's budget allocates a 2.05 percent increase in expenditures. The district faces salary increases totaling $477,000 and declining revenues because of the downturn in the economy.
The district has budgeted $100,000 for seven special-education classroom assistants hired in 2008-09 to provide more of its own services rather than sending students to Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13.
During Monday's meeting, the board voted 6-1 in favor of approving Glen Hartz as a board member to replace Theresa Clay, who moved out of the district. Hartz served on the board from 1990 to 2000.
Also during the meeting, members of the Garden Spot Band Boosters protested Trupe's comments Monday that the group had squandered funds on a trip to Disney World.
Karen Miller and other boosters said that the band's Disney trip in January 2008 was funded by the students and their parents, not by the band boosters. Miller said she "worked two jobs so my son and myself could go."
"At the end of the meeting (Tuesday) night, myself and another band parent made Mr. Trupe aware," Miller said Tuesday.
Miller said band members also participated in several workshops and in a parade on Main Street in Disney World.
"Not every school gets this honor," Miller said. "Instead of criticizing the band and boosters for our trip, perhaps Mr. Trupe should have been proud that we represented Garden Spot.
"We were able to take 140 plus kids to Disney for three days without any problems. That speaks volumes about our music students, teachers and the program in general. I think that was missed through this entire process."
E-mail: pburns@lnpnews.com
