HEATHSVILLE—The Northumberland board of supervisors in a special called meeting on Tuesday, July 18, approved a $303,696 increase in the school budget to cover a 9.9% increase in health insurance and provide new health insurance and benefits for bus drivers.
The first motion made by Thomas Tomlin to add $84,000 for bus driver insurance and benefits failed in a 2-2 vote, with Tomlin and James Long voting in favor and Richard Haynie and James Brann against. Ronald Jett was absent.
If the board approved this request other agencies would follow and “we’ll be right back where we said we weren’t going to be, that’s going to be a tax increase next year,” said Brann. He said he wishes the school board had come to them before promising anything to the bus drivers.
Haynie said he wishes this had been considered when the board approved the additional $664,986 needed for the 5% raises last month as part of the budget approval process. “We would have been much better off,” he said.
A second motion by Haynie to approve the $84,000 request passed 3-1 with Brann voting against….
