A growing assessed valuation is boosting New Lenox Elementary District 122’s tax revenue, but not enough to keep up with a rapidly growing enrollment, the school board learned last week.
Enrollment in kindergarten to 8th grade was 4,209 as of Sept. 30, and the district’s most crowded school, Martino Junior High, has added 35 pupils to each grade since the school year began.
The district needs voter approval next year to build and staff a junior high school on the north side of the village and add more classrooms to Cherry Hill School.
“The new growth doesn’t help much, and neither do the developer fees,” Supt. Tom Mullins said.
District 122’s per pupil expenditure of $1,870 is one of the lowest in Illinois.
Two questions will be put before district voters in March: permission to build the new junior high school and a request for a 65-cent boost in the education-fund tax rate.
The tax rate is expected to drop from $2.20 to $2.14 for each $100 of assessed valuation, business manager James Troha said. Troha said estimated assessed valuation in the school district has increased from $468.7 million in 1998 to $543.7 million.
The tax levy expected to be filed next month asks for $9.4 million in tax revenue. Of those funds, $6.7 million is allocated for the education fund; $1.2 million for the operations, building and maintenance fund; $576,936 for the transportation fund; $319,734 for the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund; $228,381 for Social Security; $138,660 for working cash; $97,877 for special education; and $131,594 for liability insurance.