Tentative Levy Okayed by Unit 40 Board

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Published on November 19 2013 4:37 pm
Last Updated on December 3 2013 4:46 pm
Written by Greg Sapp

The Effingham Unit 40 Board of Education Monday okayed a tentative tax levy for the coming fiscal year.

Unit 40 Superintendent Mark Doan said the District anticipates the tax rate dropping four cents to around $3.57.  When levying for bond payments is excluded, the Unit 40 tax rate drops to $3.22. Even with the levying for bonds, the projected tax rate is the lowest since 2001.

That discussion of the impact of bonds is significant, as the Unit 40 board and the other boards in Effingham County are considering seeking passage of a tax swap that would involve a 1% hike in sales tax in exchange for a reduction in property taxes.  Doan said the Unit 40 Board plans to vote at its December meeting whether to put the tax swap question on the spring election ballot.

Doan also shared the fall housing report for the districts in Effingham County.  Unit 40 enrollment is down 4% from last year and is down 13.21% since 2005.  In that same period, Beecher City district enrollment is down 33% and Teutopolis district enrollment has dropped 23.4%.  Dieterich district enrollment has dropped 9.6% and Altamont district enrollment is about steady from 2005.  

As far as parochial school enrollment, Sacred Heart enrollment is down 27.9%, St. Anthony Grade School enrollment is down 8.4%, and St. Anthony High School enrollment is down 17.5% since 2005.

That means a drop of 15.2% in enrollment in the county since 2005.

The district renewed workers compensation insurance coverage with Zenith for another year.  The premium increased 5.88%.  The district will stay with Zenith to see the results before deciding whether to stay with the firm long-term.

The Board also purchased a mower from Bahrns Kubota for use at the sports complex at Effingham High School.

In personnel moves, the Unit 40 board hired Morgan Engel to teach first grade at South Side School for the second semester, approved Family and Medical Leave Acts for Alyssa Nelson and Nancy Ervin, appointed Kathryn Koester as high school assistant boys and girls track coach and Whitney Duncan as high school assistant softball coach, and accepted Vicki Blacker's resignation as Central School cafeteria monitor.