ADAMS TOWNSHIP — The precise millage of this fall’s Clinton-Massie property tax levy will be 5.8 mills.
The yearly tax for an owner of a $100,000 home in the school district would increase by $203 if the 5.8-mills fixed-sum levy were to pass. The yearly tax for an owner of a $200,000 home would increase by $406 if the levy passes.
Those numbers were included in the variety of handouts given attendees at a Thursday community forum in the Clinton-Massie High School auditeria.
“We haven’t stopped trying to save,” Clinton-Massie Superintendent Matt Baker said during the forum.
Previously, Baker pledged to cut $150,000 going into the new school year. But he reported Thursday the cutting “right now” had reached $186,000 with a potential for more.
At a community forum in March, the superintendent said finances have to be stabilized if Clinton-Massie is going to be the best school district in the region.
At the start of Thursday’s forum, Baker said he wanted to clear up any mistaken ideas about the source of funds for a new veterans memorial constructed on C-M school grounds. No public moneys were spent on the memorial, he said. Rather the dollars have come from private donations, including a large donor who got the project going, said Baker.
Moreover, no Clinton-Massie employee has used work time to build the memorial, the superintendent said.
To shed light on the large amount of money that has to be spent by the district for items of need, there were packets at the forum containing copies of receipts from bills paid. The Financial Reference Packet also had a few estimates for upcoming repairs and equipment replacement costs, in particular a number of high-cost items.
On facility expenditures, Baker had good news and bad news. The good news is that the light poles at the football stadium have been tested, and were found to be stable and safe though some need a little maintenance work.
The stadium lighting includes two light poles from the 1960s and a couple poles starting to lean, leading to earlier concerns the lights were becoming a safety hazard. The cost of a new stadium lighting system was estimated at between $300,000 and $350,000, but replacing the current system is not necessary in the judgment of the inspectors.
The bad news is district officials received a higher quote to fix the HVAC — heating, venting, air conditioning — in the annex than was anticipated.
For much of the forum, the crowd was broken up into small groups for roundtable feedback on questions about their assessments of the district and their thoughts on the proposed levy.
District residents who didn’t get to the forum can visit the schools’ website. On the drop-down menu under the “About Us” tab on the home page, click on “Community Forum Feedback” to give your own thoughts. Your answers will be added to the attendees’ responses to be reviewed Friday, Aug. 11 at a District Leadership Team meeting, said Baker.
Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768.
