Tax season is a stressful time for many Hancock County residents. The preparation of tax returns proves to be a major hurdle for many and even the commercial firms offering assistance can be costly. A unique program trained and certified Oak Glen High students in tax preparation and then the students volunteered their time and expertise to provide free tax preparation to residents.
The students attended the Hancock County Board of Education meeting on Monday to provide a report to the Board on the benefits of the program offered by the FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) and CTE (Career Technical Education) students and located at Oak Glen High School. With a goal of providing free income tax preparation to 50 people, the student-preparers acquired $92,000 in tax refunds for their clients and learned valuable skills in a real-world simulated workplace experience.
The Oak Glen students are now certified as tax preparers by the IRS and hope to bring Weir High students into the program next year.
