NORWICH – After a school board debate over what items to include in next year’s Norwich City Schools budget, district taxpayers will see an increase in the local levy of 1.45 percent.

School board members, before adopting a $37,537,314 budget Monday night, were introduced to four possible scenarios as to how their choices would affect school programming and the tax levy.

Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan came forward with the options, explaining state aid came in at roughly $106,000 less than originally proposed.

“I have never seen anything like this before ... it is unheard of,” he said. O’Sullivan said the loss led to more figuring in how to keep programming while not greatly increasing the tax levy.

Options included keeping everything the same and taking the loss, to taking money from the fund balance, to taking a split approach to borrow and to eliminate the “extras.” Eliminated items included the mock trial and fall play, neither of which are offered currently.