Hermitage School Board will delay introducing a tentative budget to give administrators time to find ways to lower a proposed property tax hike.

The board also hopes the Rendell administration will come through with confirmation of how much the district will get from the state.

The board had planned to introduce the budget May 19, but announced Monday that the plan is on hold, said board Chairman Duane J. Piccirilli.

"There's still some work to do," said Superintendent Karen A. Ionta.

Facing a 35 percent increase in the cost of health care and a more than three-fold jump in the district's contribution to the Public School Employees' Retirement System, administrators were looking at a 5-mill tax hike.

Board members balked at so steep a hike.

"There are orders here to see what I can do to get that decreased," Mrs. Ionta said.

She said it is difficult to prepare a budget without knowing what the state will provide in its annual subsidy, and the district has applied for tutoring and early childhood grants that could figure into the budget.

"It's very annoying when you don't know from the state what the school is getting," she said. "The process is backward."

She added that there have been no consistent signals from the governor's office as to what schools can expect.

"Every day it's something new that you hear," she said. "I think every school district is in the same boat."

Director Matthew J. DeJulia asked Mrs. Ionta to review the football coaching positions. He said 14 names are listed in the proposed budget, although some would only be paid for half a position.

"They find ways to move into full positions," DeJulia said. "We're really getting out of hand with what we have."

Piccirilli said the board is aware of the time limits in the budgeting process. The budget must be available for public inspection for 20 days, and adopted by June 30.