Glenbrook High School District 225 plans to ask property owners for 3 percent more in property taxes, or almost $101.6 million, in 2016.
The district’s tentative 2015 property tax levy – essentially the district’s request – of $101.56 million, reflects both inflation and estimated new property value growth, district officials told school board members Nov. 9.
Board members unanimously approved the levy and scheduled a public “truth in taxation” hearing for 7 p.m. Dec. 14 at District 225’s offices in Glenview.
The 2015 property tax levy, payable on 2016 tax bills, aims to capture not just the 0.8 percent increase in inflation but also an estimated 2.2 percent growth in the district’s equalized assessed value, said Hillarie Siena, assistant superintendent for business.
Like many school districts, Siena said District 225 asks for more in property tax revenue than it will actually get because of a calendar glitch: property tax levies must be filed with the Cook County Clerk by Dec. 26, but the EAV figure won’t be known until sometime next year.
“School districts have only one chance to capture revenues from new properties,” she said in a prepared statement released after the board’s vote. “If districts fail to ask for the tax revenue at the time they first come on to the tax rolls, they will never be able to recover the added value later.”
District 225 gets between 92 percent and 93 percent of its total annual revenue from property taxes, Siena said.
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The tentative 2015 property tax levy and FAQs will be posted at the district’s website, glenbrook225.org.
Board members also learned they will be short one of their own come February.
Cindy Wilkas will resign in January because she is moving to Colorado, Supt. Mike Riggle said.
Wilkas was elected to the District 225 school board in April 2013. Her term expires in April 2017.
District 225 will formally announce the pending vacancy on its website and have information and an application available online by Nov. 13 for those interested in replacing her for the remainder of her term, Riggle said.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens 18 years or older, registered voters and have resided in the district for at least one year. Applicants cannot be school trustees or treasurers, or child sex offenders.
Board members plan to review the applicant pool at their Dec. 14 meeting. State law allows them 45 days from Wilkas’ resignation to appoint her replacement, but leaves the process of that determination up to local school boards.
Jon Davis is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.