ADDISON, Mich. - Addison Community Schools will apply for an interest-free loan for school construction through the federal stimulus program, according to The (Adrian) Daily Telegram. The school board authorized its superintendent to apply for up to $15 million, The Telegram reported.
Under the terms of the loan, the district must go to voters in 2010 to ask for an approximate 2.5-mill tax levy to cover the costs, according to The Telegram. That would cost the owner of a home with a $100,000 taxable value approximately $256 in taxes each year during the 15-year repayment period, The Telegram reported.
The district has closed an 84-year-old elementary school and its remaining buildings range in age from 32 to 59 years, the report said.
The stimulus funding can be used for construction, rehabilitation or repair of school buildings, or purchase of land for new construction, Superintendent Eileen Grant-Ball said, according to The Telegram.
Business manager Wendy Rokita said she was told by state officials that construction funds set aside for 2009 were already given out, The Telegram reported, and Grant-Ball encouraged board members to apply for 2010 funds quickly.
"If there's any way we can pull this off and get the community to support it, I think we would be foolish not to pursue it, or at least let the community make the final decision," board Secretary Mike Murphy said, The Telegram reported.
SOURCE:
The (Adrian) Daily Telegram, "Board to apply for stimulus fund loan," July 29, 2009
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Property Taxes and Home Values Deserve Closer Scrutiny," Oct. 30, 2008
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