CATLIN – School officials approved a $2.23 million tax levy for the upcoming year on Thursday, which is expected to generate an additional $63,600 for the district.

Superintendent Gary Lewis said he expects the value of property within the district to increase by about $2 million to a total of about $43.6 million, allowing the schools to collect more money while reducing the tax rate.

The current tax rate is about $5.13 per $100 of assessed valuation. That means that the owner of a $60,000 home in the district with no exemptions pays about $1,026 in property taxes to the district.

Lewis projects that the new tax rate will be closer to $5.10 per $100 of assessed valuation, or an decrease of about $6 in the property tax bill to the owner of a $60,000 home in the district with no exemptions.

The current budget for the district is about $5.03 million, but it includes an estimated deficit of about $335,000.

Lewis said school officials plan to keep a tight hold on any expenses outside of what has been budgeted. He said that uncertainty about receiving payments from the state is discouraging officials from planning any large expenditures.

In other business, a Catlin High School student project is expected to create eight to 10 new parking places at the school.

Two juniors from Catlin High's new service and community class presented the Catlin school board with a proposal asking for permission to convert the unused tennis court near the parking lot into a parking area. The students estimated that the project could be done with volunteer labor and no more than $100 in paint, weed-killing chemicals and the removal of some fencing.

The board agreed, and the project may be done before winter.

Catlin High Principal Kevin Thomas said the class is part of a new service project requirement for high-school graduation. Starting this year, juniors are taking a one-semester class to learn how to identify, organize and carry out a service project; starting next year, each senior will perform a project.

Thomas said that the juniors taking the class this semester were so enthusiastic about the parking-lot-expansion project that they wanted to implement it this year.

"This will increase the number of parking spaces at the high school by about 10 percent," Thomas said.