Dist. 308 Tax Rate Referendum: School, Village Officials Weigh In

OSWEGO, IL — A referendum on whether to raise the operating rate of Oswego Community School District 308 will appear on the ballots in Kendall, Kane and Will Counties on March 17. "Raising the operating rate' effectively means a 30 cent per $100 property tax rate increase on property values for areas serviced by the school district. This means that the more a taxpayer's property is valued at, the more they will see their taxes increase.

Increasing taxes is rarely popular. The same referendum was put forward last year and failed in the April 2 vote. But the margin of its defeat was narrow — 4,411 "no" votes to 4,085 "yes" votes. District 308 CFO Christi Tyler said she hoped the balance would swing to the school district's side this year, citing maintenance that needs to be done on district facilities, and the improvements to the school experience that more tax income could provide students. Reducing class size is especially a priority.

"Probably the biggest thing we hear from parents and teachers is about the amount of students they have in their classroom," Tyler said.

Tyler also said that school programs had been cut "to the bone" over the last few years due to lack of funds. The Oswego 308 website describes a number of cancelled school programs and functions, and Tyler said that should the referendum fail, even more programs — including sports — could be at risk.

"If we don't want to impact classes anymore or impact students anymore, then we are [at the bone]... Probably the most immediate [effect of the referendum failing] would be the junior high sports for next year would become an intramural model as opposed to playing competitions against the other junior highs in our district," Tyler said.

The last time a successful tax rate increase referendum passed was in 2005, when the median household income in Kendall County was estimated at about $73,000 per year. In Kane County at that time, the median income was about $63,400, and in Will County it was roughly $68,600. As of 2018, all those figures have increased. Kendall County's median income is now at about $93,300, Kane's is at $79,800 and Will's is at $86,100. During this 13-year period, the school district's share of the property tax levy has remained relatively stagnant.

When asked for his thoughts on the matter, Oswego Village President Troy Parlier largely declined to take sides. He said that it wasn't his place to speak for another community institution, but stressed that he wanted the district to succeed.

"I took the position that I can only run the village; that's the only thing I can really find ways to grow," he said. "I don't want to put myself in another entity's shoes; however... part of my job is being a very good partner with all our inter-governmental agencies, and the school district's a huge one."

In the past, Parlier has acknowledged that local taxes are a major concern for residents; one he said he hoped more business development and population growth in the area could help alleviate.

"We need to keep the business development engine going," he said in January of this year. "That's going to help not just the village but all of our other governmental bodies, it's going to help them too."

While maintaining neutrality on the issue of a tax increase, Parlier has also led efforts to create inter-governmental agreements between the village and the school district. One said agreement allowed the district to store road salt in the village's salt dome. According to Parlier, the agreement saved the district "six figures" in expenditure. Tyler confirmed this, saying the agreement saved about $170,000 a year.

The district website includes an extensive list of measures that the district has taken to try and limit spending, salt domes aside. There are too many to list in this article, but a few-stand out policies include increasing kindergarten fees, eliminating transportation for summer school, and requiring students' families pay a fee to keep their children current in sports and other extra-curricular activities.

Despite this extensive list of cost-saving strategies, many in the school district's service area remain concerned, even angry about the potential of a tax increase. A neighbor discussion on the issue has been running on Oswego Patch since Feb. 17, and has generated more than 45 responses. Several users attacked the salary of the District Superintendent Dr. John Sparlin, who as of the 2019-2020 school year makes a little over $208,000 per year. Others criticized the district for its new deal with the Illinois Education Association, which will see teachers receive an eight percent pay raise over the next four years.

"The board just approved the teachers' contract at Monday's meeting, so... every year the total cost of the contract will increase and at the end of the four years it's just under eight percent," Tyler said.

Tyler also explained how a freshman teacher's salary would be affected by the raise agreement.

"A teacher that is just hired right out of college, under the new contract [will make] $40,975... that same teacher right out of college, next year under the salary schedule, she... [will make] next year $43, 860, because what happens is they get a step and then a new schedule," she said.

In total, School District 308 approved an estimated $105 million in tax levy in 2019. This is roughly 4.7 percent of the total estimated Equalized Assessed Value (EAV) of Kane, Kendall and Will Counties combined. An additional 30 cents per $100 means a home valued at $200,000 would experience a property tax increase of approximately $15 a month, while a home valued at $350,000 would experience a property tax increase of approximately $28 a month. Some may feel this is a fair investment in local children's education, but others clearly disagree. From the comments left on Oswego Patch NeighborPosts, older residents within the school district area and/or those without children themselves are especially at odds with the proposal.

Of course, there are exceptions.

"We are retired and live on a fixed income but I would vote yes because the district has made many cuts over the last couple years," one respondent to the Patch online discussion said. "We need to build this district up so people will want to move here. If the district starts to fail our home values will also fall. Let’s make 308 as good as our surrounding districts."

The referendum will appear on the March 17 election ballot phrased as the following:

"Shall the limiting rate under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law for Oswego Community Unit School District Number 308, Kendall, Kane and Will Counties, Illinois, be increased by an additional amount equal to .30% above the limiting rate for school purposes for levy year 2018 and be equal to 5.32922% of the equalized assessed value of the taxable property therein for levy year 2020?"

Should it pass, it will be included on the levy presented in December of this year. Early voting and mail-in ballots are currently available for all registered voters in all three counties.