Cass D-63 Tax Hike Got Beat Fair And Square: Official

DARIEN, IL — The superintendent of Cass School District 63 said he was disappointed with the results of the district’s tax increase measure in Tuesday's election. But he said it was beaten fair and square.

Superintendent Mark Cross spoke to Patch after 57 percent of the district's voters rejected a referendum measure on Tuesday. Its passage would have resulted in a 4 percent increase in property taxes.

Cross said he believed the district provided the community with good information and made every effort to be completely open.

“Having said that, we also respect that anything that impacts people’s taxes is a tough thing to ask, especially in a challenging economic time we’re in,” Cross told Patch.

The district's main concern was replacing its buildings’ heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems with geothermal ones.

According to the district, nearly all the HVAC systems in both schools have exceeded or are near the end of their life expectancy. And Cross said the failure of the referendum measure does not take away the need to address the problems.

“At the very least, they’re going to be delayed. We face some potentially really difficult decisions,” Cross said.

Patch asked Cross whether the results of the referendum serve as a lesson to the school district to budget better or make better use of its cash on hand. Cross said it was a fair question, but said the district cannot plan for improvement projects of this size. That's because the district's property tax levies are limited to the consumer price index, which has increased a lot in the last year, he said.

“There are many businesses that still borrow funds to do long-term capital investments, and we are no different,” Cross said.

The superintendent said the district felt little pushback throughout the past few months on the referendum. He said most people he interacted with understood the district's needs.

Cross expects the school board to discuss the next steps following the failed ballot measure during its Aug. 16 meeting. The superintendent said he did not believe members would meet before then to discuss the referendum.