Quick Hits: School Board Approves Summer Tax Levy

It was a quick meeting for the Birmingham Board of Education on Tuesday night, during which trustees approved the district's intent to levy summer property taxes and awarded a bid contract to Staples to provide the district with 4,700 bags of ice melt for the winter.

Only have time for the quick hits? Here's a rundown of what happened during Tuesday's meeting:

Summer tax levy, ice melt product purchase approved

• Trustees approved a resolution approving a summer tax levy of up to 100 percent of the school's property taxes, effective for summer 2012. This resolution is required by law to continue collecting summer taxes in the district's seven taxing zones. Trustees noted that the district collects half of the general operating taxes in the summer and half in the winter.
• The board approved the purchase of 4,700 bags of ice-melt product — sometimes known as rock salt — from Staples at a total cost of $36,613.  Debbie Piesz, assistant superintendent of business services, said the district has used that many bags of ice melt each year for the past three years.
• The school board also approved a resolution of appreciation for the 2011 Millage Election Committee. . The election committee was chaired by Cris Braun, Stuart Jeffares and Sharon Spilkin.