Homeowners will receive break on taxes

NORTH JACKSON -- Thanks to lower millage on two emergency tax levies, many residents are going to see a smaller increase in their 2006 taxes than originally calculated.
At Thursday's Jackson-Milton school board meeting, Treasurer John Zinger said he received a call from the Mahoning County Auditor's Office asking him to concur with its decision to decrease the millage on the two levies by a total of 1.6 mills. Reappraisals of property values, new construction and valuation changes allowed for the adjustments, Zinger noted.
Earlier in the session, school officials reallocated inside millage of 3.85 mills to help provide additional funds to build a new school estimated at 13.5 million on 100 acres the district owns on Mahoning Avenue.
Also at the session, the board discussed with AVG Construction Inc. of Cleveland design ideas for the new middle school/high school and how best to use much of the space. The facility will likely have between 72,000 and 80,000 square feet, depending on whether it will be built for grades six to 12 or seven to 12, Superintendent Buck Palmer said. AVG was hired to help with the design.
Zinger said that board members want to ensure that the school's common areas, such as the gym and cafetorium, are built in a way that "the community will appreciate without [negatively] affecting the education of the kids."
Groundbreaking could be next summer and the school could be ready by fall 2009, officials said.