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District 207 rebates taxes to Maine Township residents

Maine Township taxpayers will receive $1 million tax abatement from Maine Township High School District 207.

The measure was approved at Monday night’s school board meeting upon the recommendation of the district’s Finance Committee. In a statement released today, officials said the decision was based on an awareness that many district residents are still feeling the effects of a slow national economic recovery and continued unemployment or underemployment.

The district’s budgeted expenditures for the 2012-2013 school year are roughly $124 million.

School board President Sean Sullivan in a release credited school board member Ed Mueller, who is leaving the board after completing his term in April, for leading the charge to reduce taxes over the past few years.

“The district has worked hard to consistently control spending in ways that do not diminish the high caliber of education that our community expects and values,” he said.

District 207 Superintendent Ken Wallace pointed in the statement to the uncertainty that school districts face related to the level of the state’s contribution to operating expenses and pensions.

“Even so, we believe our financial management and cost-containment efforts have put us in a position that we can make this tax abatement without compromising the quality of our education,” he said.

The district recently refinanced bonds for better interest rates, and has found savings on purchasing supplies and energy consumption, officials said.

District 207 also will be implementing a 10-year capital improvement program to repair, maintain and upgrade all three high schools, which range in age from 49 years to 82 years. Some of the work had been deferred due to financial considerations, officials said.

Ken Wallace
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