Board OKs levy, sets hearings on waiver and taxes

A rising equalized assessed valuation will likely bring Morris Elementary School District 54's tax rate under 3.00 for taxes payable next summer. Board members, during their regular meeting Tues-day, unanimously approved the district's tentative tax levy of $7,651,771. Of that, $2,392,000 would be distributed to the education fund, while $3,495,685 would go to cover principal and interest due on bonds. The figures were based on an estimated equalized assessed valuation, or EAV, of $315.8 million in the district, which would the 2008 property tax rate to be 2.9839. That EAV would represent a 6.32 percent increase over last year, while the tax rate would be a 2.6 percent decrease. District 54's next regular school board meeting will be Tuesd