5 Lake County School Districts Awarded Property Tax Relief Grants

LAKE COUNTY, IL — The Illinois State Board of Education announced the 39 school district that are eligible for a property tax relief grant from the state, and five Lake County school districts are among those being awarded across Illinois. According to a news release from the ISBE, the number of eligible districts is a significant increase over the previous year. Grayslake Community High School District 127, North Chicago School District 187, Round Lake Area Schools’ District 116, Zion-Benton Township High School District 126, and Zion Elementary School District 6 are the Lake County school districts deemed eligible.

The grant, according to the ISBE, allows these eligible districts additional state funds in exchange for cutting a portion of their property taxes.

A total of 233 districts applied for the grant, and all districts may apply for the grant each year, pending appropriations, the ISBE said.

Governor JB Pritzker's Fiscal Year 2020 budget appropriated $3.65 million more for the grant than in FY 2019, the news release said.

A district is eligible for the grant if they have the highest tax rates within their organization type (elementary, high school, or unit district) out of all the districts that applied. Eligible districts have until March 30 to submit an abatement resolution to their county clerks, after which the ISBE will distribute the grant to each eligible district after obtaining the abatement form from the district's county clerk, according to the news release.

For more information including a complete list of eligible school districts, visit isbe.net.