Cass 63 Residents Vote Against Tax Increase

DARIEN, IL — Unofficial results show the proposed property tax increase in Cass School District 63 appeared to be going down at the ballot box on Tuesday.

The county clerk's website showed, as of 10:45 p.m. Tuesday, 1,034 voted no while 791 voted yes.

If the referendum measure had passed, homeowners would have seen property taxes increase by around 4 percent.

According to the district, the cost of the referendum measure would have gone to the building needs of its two schools, Concord Elementary, and Cass Junior High. It would have also paid off an existing bond early.

The district said it was addressing three main needs – safety, security and buildings’ heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

Cass 63 planned to replace its current HVAC systems with geothermal ones. According to the district, while the geothermal option had the highest upfront cost, over time it would have been the cheapest.

The school district also had planned to replace their schools’ fire alarm systems, update video surveillance systems, and install an integrated intercom and communications system.

"Needless to say, we are very disappointed that the opportunity to upgrade our safety, security and HVAC systems did not pass," Superintendent Mark Cross said in a statement. "This is unfortunate for our students, staff and community."

Cass 63’s referendum measure had considerably less vocal opposition than the referendum in neighboring Central Cass 66, where residents also voted against their referendum measure. If it had passed, resident could have seen property taxes increase by nearly 25 percent.