MERCER, Wis. -- Senior citizens can trade their lifetime skills for property tax relief by working part-time at the Mercer K-12 School starting this fall.

The Mercer School Board on Monday approved a new Senior Tax Exchange and Enhancement Program, called STEP.

It will pay seniors age 62 or older $6.50 per hour, up to a maximum of $400 per year, to do a variety of jobs at school. That amounts to about 60 hours total.

STEP earnings will be applied to the worker's property taxes.

"It is a good program. It gets people involved," superintendent Jeff Ehrhardt said.

He said STEP would "create collegiality between people and the school district."

Ehrhardt said Tuesday that seniors might work as kitchen, library or playground helpers or hall monitors. People with computer expertise also might find work at school, according to Ehrhardt.

"We'll try to match the skills that the seniors have with what we need in the school," he said.

Bonnie Banaszak, representing Safe Routes to School, suggested the program could provide crossing guards. Safe Routes recently received an $85,300 grant to make it safer for children to walk or bike to school.

The board approved STEP in November 2005, at the recommendation of administrator Ron Vaughn. The district budget has included $3,000 per year since then, with $9,000 accumulated, Ehrhardt said.

The STEP press release included an alternative for seniors who rent rather than own homes and so do not pay property taxes. They could have received gift cards for groceries, gas or other items -- Mercer Lumber Co., Snow's Family Market and Mercer BP were listed. Ehrhardt said the board could list other businesses or leave it open to the worker's choice.

Board members said the district would not want to give gift cards to taverns. They opted to offer only tax relief in STEP's first year.