LAKE LINDEN – A former Lake Linden-Hubbell Public Schools Board of Education member gave a donation to the district equal to the amount that would have been owed in back taxes to the district for a structure he built on a Schoolcraft Township campground.

Kevin Codere gave the district $363.06, equivalent to six years of back taxes on the property. The board approved the donation at Monday’s board meeting.

Superintendent Craig Sundblad said Codere had made the donation independently without any correspondence with the district beforehand.

“We didn’t ask for that,” he said. “We didn’t follow up with him. He just sent that on his own. There’s no behind-the-scenes negotiation. (The board) didn’t know about it until just now.”

Codere has said he built the 192-square-foot structure, which lacked amenities, after becoming concerned by the amount of vandalism at the township park. He used the structure while serving as campground host.

He resigned from the board earlier this year after the issue was raised by a member of the public, and he felt it was distracting from the board’s work.

In August, the Schoolcraft Township Board of Review voted to put the property on the tax rolls. However, it decided not to address back taxes at the site. That amounted to about $2,883 per year overall, or $65 per year in school taxes, Sundblad said Monday.

“Anytime someone donates, we’re happy,” Sundblad said. “There’s no conditions or anything. We understand what he did, and we appreciate it.”