TOMAHAWK - A shrinking school district means shrinking taxes for Tomahawk. Last night the district approved a budget that will decrease the tax levy by more than seven percent.

Superintendent Dr. Roger Rindo says they've never been able to lower the levy in the five years he's been there. A combination of things contributed to this year's lower budget.

"We're a declining enrollment district, so we have fewer students which requires fewer teachers. We've been able to reduce budgets through attrition with some retirements and that's been very helpful. Otherwise all the low hanging fruit from a budget reduction standpoint is gone so we had to take a closer look at all of our programs and see what we can do to operate more efficiently with the dollars we have," says Dr. Rindo.

The nearly $1 million they've saved this year means each household in Tomahawk will save nearly $60 per $100,000 of income.

Dr. Rindo does say there are some things they'd like to spend money on in the future.

"We've been able to do what we can with technology in our classrooms. We certainly would like to accelerate that at a quicker pace, and we see budget as a significant roadblock. I don't think it's undoable by any stretch. I think we'll continue to look at that," says Dr. Rindo.

Next year the district hopes to start a new pilot program for the high school. It will include the possibility for work-based learning, job shadowing and evening classes.

Story By: Lyndsey Stemm