With little fanfare, the Lawrence school board approved a budget that decreases the school property tax rate by 1.591 mills Monday and provides an average 2 percent pay raise for teachers and other district employees.

“I imagine the taxpayers are glad to have a little bit of a break, given what has happened to the city and county,” Board President Shannon Kimball said after the 6-0 vote.

The city of Lawrence and Douglas County have recently increased their mill levies to 1.47 mills and 3.914 mills respectively.

But much of the district’s budget and tax rates are driven by formulas set out in state law that deal with student enrollment, poverty rates and the wealth of the district.

Kimball said taxes were cut in the school district because the state–under order from the Kansas Supreme Court in a long-running lawsuit–fully funded equalization aid, which subsidizes capital outlay and local budgets. “It is frustrating that it took so long to get to this point,” she said.

And, she said, the state also changed the way it funds virtual school operations in a way that hurt the Lawrence district and will have to be addressed in the next several months.

No one spoke during the public meeting on the budget.

The budget will drop the levy from 57.788 mills to 56.197 mills meaning the owner of a $200,000 home will pay $1,292 in school property tax, which is $37 less than this year’s rate.

On the pay raise, the average salary increase for teachers will be $935 per year, according to the school district. The Lawrence Education Association, the local bargaining unit for teachers, had agreed to the salary increase in June.

The increase includes a $350 pay raise for all teachers and step increases based on teachers attaining more college credit and for each year of experience in the district.

The board also heard a report on efforts to improve counseling and mental health services, including the hiring of a student services mental health facilitator.

Board Vice President Vanessa Sanburn said the school district appreciated funding from Douglas County commissioners that will provide a social worker with the Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities, or WRAP, program in all Lawrence public high schools and middle schools.

The program had been cut in recent years to both high schools and only two of four middle schools.

Douglas County Commissioner Mike Gaughan, who had pushed for additional WRAP funding, was in the audience and spoke to the board.

“This is a community priority,” Gaughan said. “We know that it pays off in the long run.”

In other business, the board:

— Accepted the resignation of Board member Adina Morse, who has been selected as the new executive director of the Lawrence Schools Foundation, which provides funding to benefit students and teachers.

Applications to replace her on the board will be accepted through Aug. 29. The board will fill the vacancy at its Sept. 8 meeting.

— Extended the contract of Superintendent Rick Doll through June 30, 2016. Doll’s salary for the 2014-2015 school year is $169,545.