The Northport Board of Education released a seven-page document from the Thrun Law Firm concerning the school district’s responsibilities as related to the joint Northport Village-Leelanau Township sewer project.

At a special meeting Monday night, the board unanimously approved the release of the document after going into closed session. The board reviewed a communication from Thrun attorney Mathew D. Drake about his recommendations dated June 14, 2007 concerning the district’s role in the sewer project.

At is June 14 meeting, the board reviewed Drake’s written opinion about the school’s obligations related to the sewer system and participation in the special assessment district in a closed session. Since the opinion was reviewed in a closed session, as allowed under the state Open Meetings Act, some board members were concerned that its contents could not be released to incoming members of the school board.

The board directed superintendent Tyrus Wessell and business manager Karen Hammersley to continue negotiations with the village and township on the district’s costs to be part of the sewer system. In May 2005, the board authorized its president and secretary to sign a petition for the sanitary sewer system. The understanding of the board at that time was the district would face an overall cost of $135,525 to be a part of the sewer district. That cost was based on the district using 10 Residential Equivalent Units (REU), and the board budgeted $150,000 for its total costs to hook into the sewer once it is built.

This spring, the board received a notice from the village and township that it had made a mistake in calculating how many REUs the district would be assessed. The number jumped to 20.25 REUs, which more than doubled the total cost for participating in the sewer system to $322,000, with a monthly fee of $750.

Wessell said Tuesday that according to Drake’s review of state law, the school building must hook into the sewer system. However, the state school code requires that the sewer service be offered to the school district at no cost to the Northport. The school code allows a school board to enter into an agreement with a local government to be part of a special assessment district, though it is not required.

Wessell and Hammersley have talked with Northport Village administrator Greg King and township supervisor James Neve about the district’s costs related to the sewer system. The initial cost estimate of $322,000 was reduced to $239,000, which was still considered too high by school board members.

Based on the discussions, Wessell said Tuesday the village and township have agreed to decrease the number of REUs the school will be charged to 10. “They agreed to base our REU allotment on our water usage,” he said. There are three levels of payment that are being considered as well: $219,000, $160,000, and $135,500. Wessell said he has not made a recommendation to the board as to any formal agreement with the village and township. He said he presented the information to the board members so they can discuss it at their Aug. 13 meeting.

In other business, the board:

• Set the breakfast and hot lunch prices for 2007-08: Breakfast is $1, hot lunch $1.75 elementary, $2 secondary, $3 adults, milk 40 cents. Reduced price for lunch is 40 cents and reduced price for breakfast is 30 cents. The prices are unchanged from 2006-07.

• Approved the following agreements: membership in the Michigan High School Athletic Association; having Thrun as the district’s attorneys for the 2007-08 school year; and membership in the Michigan Association of School Boards.

• Discussed committee assignments for 2007-08. Board members were asked to think about committees they want to serve. The board will consider committee assignments at its Aug. 13 meeting.