District 102 Asks La Grange Community For $3 Million to Ease Financial Strain

News that La Grange School District 102 has struggled financially in the recent past isn’t new information, but this fall the district decided to take its case to its community with a referendum that will show up on ballots next week.

The district, which is expecting to suffer a huge deficit in spending this year, is asking voters to approve an additional $3 million in annual tax revenue to take some financial strain off of its schools.

District 102’s Board of Education voted unanimously to put the question on the November ballot back on Aug. 17, My Suburban Life reported. District 102’s Superintendent Kyle Schumacher said more than 100 people attended meetings in which the community and school board discussed the district's money problems.

“I think the overall feeling was that no one likes to see their taxes raised, but they understand the value and the service the district is providing and don’t want to see that diminish,” Schumacher said at the meeting.

The referendum you’ll see on your ballot will look like this:

Shall the limiting rate under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law for LaGrange School District Number 102, Cook County, Illinois, be increased by an additional amount equal to 0.42% above the limiting rate for levy year 2015 for any purpose of said School District and be equal to 4.10% of the equalized assessed value of the taxable property therein for levy year 2016? 1) The approximate amount of taxes extendable at the most recently extended limiting rate is $27,354,876, and the approximate amount of taxes extendable if the proposition is approved is $30,476,900. 2) For the 2016 levy year the approximate amount of the additional tax extendable against property containing a single family residence and having a fair market value at the time of the referendum of $100,000 is estimated to be $112.08. 3) If the proposition is approved, the aggregate extension for 2016 will be determined by the limiting rate set forth in the proposition, rather than the otherwise applicable limiting rate calculated under the provisions of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (commonly known as the Property Tax Cap Law).

That’s a lot of complex information, so we’re going to give you a rundown of the essentials you need to know to make an educated vote next week without getting caught up in any confusing language.

District 102 houses six schools that educate more than 3,100 children from kindergarten through eighth grade. Due to growth of the student population and state budget cuts, schools have been having trouble making ends meet.

The district is expected to run a $2 million deficit this year, projecting an income of $35 million and expecting to spend $37 million.

Schumacher said the district has suffered such deficits for the past several years and has slowly been losing more and more money.

If the community approves this referendum, property taxes should increase annually by roughly $112 per $100,00 in home value.

Even if the referendum does pass, the district is expected to make substantial changes to stabilize itself financially long-term. If it doesn’t pass, Schumacher said the school board would have to look at slashing school programs and increasing class sizes.

Have any questions about this referendum? Let us know, and we’ll do our best to answer them.

Keep an eye out for more election and referendum break-downs on Patch this week.

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