School District U-46 board members have approved a $288.5 million tax levy, resulting in a small tax increase for most property owners.
The 2019 levy resolution is 2.1% increase over last year. Like other school districts, U-46 officials must submit tax levies to the Kane County Clerk’s Office by the last Tuesday of the year.
School board members unanimously approved the tax levy with little discussion at Monday’s U-46 board meeting, which was the last of 2019.
Under the levy, a $5,000 tax bill would increase to $5,105, according to a district analysis. District spokeswoman Mary Fergus said the percentage amount of the tax bill that goes to U-46 will vary depending on where the resident lives; the Elgin-area district is split between 11 cities/villages in three counties.
The levy will provide just under half of the revenue for the district’s operating budget. Earlier in the year, the school board approved a $594 million budget for the 2019-20 school year.
The levy will collect nearly $180 million in property taxes for educational purposes, according to the tax levy certificate. Another $36 million-plus will be collected for the operations and maintenance fund. Another $36 million will be collected for the district’s special education services and $12 million-plus is earmarked for transportation.
Dale Burnidge, the district’s financial operations director, told board members in October the levy amount is determined by estimating equalized assessed values of new construction and changes in the values of current property within the district boundaries. Equalized assessed values are not generally known until approximately April for Kane and DuPage counties and July for Cook County, according to school board documents.