HAMMOND | As Hammond school officials head downstate for a hearing Thursday on building a new high school, financial advisers are number crunching, calculating what the cost will be to taxpayers.

Their answer: The numbers show a new high school puts no burden on taxpayers.

The district's analysts and attorneys profiled actual figures from December property tax bills that showed, in some cases, up to a 51 percent decrease in tax bills under property tax cap legislation state lawmakers passed in March.

Figures showed a $50,000 home required the owner to pay a property tax bill of $908. Under the new law and with a new bond issue, the owner's bill decreases to $485, a 47 percent decrease.

A tax bill recorded for a home assessed at $100,000 was $2,148 in 2007. The new, lower amount shows a 37 percent decrease to $1,360, the record showed.

Residents with homes that have a market value of $150,000 in December received a tax bill of $4,214, but they can expect a new rate of $2,217, a 47 percent decrease.

Homeowners in the $200,000 bracket received a tax bill for $6,279. Their new bill would reflect a 51 percent decrease to $3,075.

School administrators said they're confident the $106.7 million school bond issue covering a new structure to combine Hammond and Gavit High schools keeps taxpayers in mind.

Homeowners see the effects of the tax cap legislation, or House Bill 1001, and the school bond in 2010, administrators said.

School officials are set to present the case for a new high school to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance at 10:50 a.m. Thursday.