Moon and Crescent property owners will face a 0.83-mill real estate tax increase under a $57 million budget adopted by a 5-4 vote Monday night by Moon Area school directors.

Directors Ben Bonham, Jeff Bussard, Carol Cellini and Mark Limbruner voted against the budget and the tax increase.

Alan Bennett, director of Fiscal and School Services, said homeowners who have a median-value $130,100 homestead property will pay an average $9 more per month in taxes.

Mr. Bennett also said more than 6,800 property owners who have filed Act 1 homestead exemption application forms will have a tax decrease of $139 for the second year due to state gambling revenues.

As cost-cutting suggestions, director Nick Pollack proposed closing one of the elementary schools, and director Mark Ulven proposed a $100 student activity fee, but both failed.

Mr. Bussard proposed an amendment that the directors reduce revenue and have a 4 percent undesignated fund balance, which he said would preclude a tax increase.

"My proposal put the impetus on the administration to continue to search for alternatives to raise money throughout the year rather than raise taxes," Mr. Bussard said. But it was defeated, 5-4.

Mr. Bonham proposed $400,000 worth of savings by eliminating jobs of one high school principal, the public relations person and the assistant superintendent, and with a parking fee plan and dropping curriculum writing for language arts.

Mr. Linbruner said the district should have reduced expenses.

"Unfortunately, the majority of the board is not seeing the economic hardships, the reduced salaries and the reduced hours that the community is seeing," Mr. Limbruner said.

Board president Mark Scappe defended the budget.

"We've been going through this since January," he said. "The administration took $1.7 million out of the budget. Because of the Act 1 mandate, when you don't increase tax revenues with the cost of living, there is no way to catch up."

Mr. Bennett said the spending plan allots more than $687,000 in funding for instructional technology components.

The district will obtain 80 learner response systems for elementary, middle school and high school classrooms to determine how students are comprehending their lessons through interactive classroom activities, polls and quizzes.

Also, 59 interactive white boards and projectors will be distributed to the elementary and middle schools, 48 laptop computers with carts will be introduced to classrooms, and there will be districtwide computer systems upgrades.

Spending will be 0.8 percent higher with employee salary and benefits remaining the largest expenditures totaling $26 million and $9.2 million respectively -- an increase of more than $1 million.

As an additional cost-saving measure, two staff positions will be eliminated.