The Lacey Township school board has passed a tentative budget that will restore sports and other after-school activities previously on the chopping block.

But balancing the budget with a $6.5 million shortfall is a give-and-take situation.

School administrators said this tentative budget is not ideal - it’s a compromise to maintain local control rather than a state monitor. The 7.5% tax increase is less than the first proposal and sports and activities were restored.

But average class sizes are going over 30 students at all three levels - as high as 38 in high school. There won’t be staff pay raises. All the elementary schools will be restructured, and courtesy busing for the youngest students will end.

Public comment became a debate over what’s more important - tax increases or student activities.

“There’s 28,000 people in this town and 4,000 students,” said former board member Regina Discenza. “You do the ratio.”

“Every single one of those kids is worth me opening my wallet and paying more in taxes,” argued one current Lacey Township teacher.

Many acknowledged the state’s role in the fiscal crisis. The district has lost $14 million in state funding over eight years - and cut 173 staffers over that time.