A compromise agreement was reached between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown and Schuylkill County Commissioners on the amount of real estate tax that shall be paid beginning in 2011 on three church buildings in Coaldale, which no longer serve as houses of worship.

Last fall Panther Valley School District filed a petition in the county court to remove the tax exemption on the buildings and the Schuylkill County Assessment Appeals board agreed and fixed market values and assessments on all three church buildings.The diocese filed an appeal in the county court from the rulings of the assessment board, and council for both the diocese and county commissioners reached a compromise agreement on the market value of the homes which Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin accepted into law. The exemption remains removed and the new market values were fixed by the court as follows:Ss. Cyril and Methodius Church, market value of $431,106 fixed by the assessment board is reduced to $110,000 and the assessment lowered from $179,340 to $45,760.Saint Mary's Church, market value reduced from $225,264 to $55,000 and assessment lowered from $97,7810 to $22,880; and on an adjoining lot the market value reduced from $15,024 to $5,003 and assessment lowered from $6,250 to $2,080.Saint John The Baptist Church, market value reduced from $132,176 to $26,500 and assessment lowered from $55, 365 to $11,025. The convent building near the St. Mary's Church remains exempt from taxes.