Schools
Center Cass Goes Into Debt For Building Projects
The debt will be paid back with proceeds from the district's voter-approved property tax hike, an official said.
DARIEN, IL – Center Cass School District 66's board last week decided to go $6.9 million into debt to pay for building projects related to health, life and safety.
The district said it would pay back the money with a property tax hike of nearly 20 percent. Voters approved the increase in a November 2022 referendum.
"With projects outlined in the Health Life Safety report costing more than $1,000,000 a year, we needed to obtain a larger amount of money up front, then use the referendum dollars to pay back the bond/debt certificate," Superintendent Andrew Wise said in an email to Patch.
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Under state law, items in the district's health-life study must be completed in one year, five years or 10 years, depending on the item's condition, Wise said.
"Obtaining the money up front and paying it back allows us to meet the state's required timeline to complete the work," he said.
Find out what's happening in Darienfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
According to district documents, $5.5 million of the work is designated for Lakeview Junior High, with Prairieview and Elizabeth Ide elementary schools getting $1 million and $232,000, respectively.
The district said it has communicated with the public over the last few years about the needed life-safety work.
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