The Warren Township High School District 121 Board of Education is “absolutely” planning on putting another proposed tax-increase referendum question on the 2022 ballot, according to Board President Paul Schulz.
He, along with the other members of the board, spoke up about their desire to propose another referendum question at Tuesday’s finance committee meeting, held at the school’s Almond Campus. The board was joined by community members, including several representatives of the referendum committee, who all spoke about their desire to see another referendum question on an upcoming ballot, and what strategies they might use to get such a proposal approved.
The district had a referendum question on the April 6 ballot, but it was rejected by voters, with 55% against the proposal. The measure would have increased the limiting rate for district residents by .35%, which would have brought in an additional $7.8 million in tax revenue each year. The last time a limiting rate increase was approved in the district was 2001.
Schulz said that the board will be voting on adding a referendum question to the June 2022 ballot at an upcoming meeting.
Due to the April referendum failing, the district is facing drastic cuts despite already eliminating 60 positions, according to Superintendent John Ahlgrim. The district plans on eliminating another 13 positions in the coming year.
District officials may also cut programs, which is what many in attendance Tuesday wanted to talk about. They encouraged others in the room to reach out to parents who have children that participate in sports and theater, and have them get more involved before they see their children’s programs cut.
The school’s football coach Bryan McNulty spoke at the meeting and encouraged board members and referendum committee members to use him and other high-profile staff members.
“Please, use us who run big programs,” he said. “I know our theater program has been successful, so people are moving into the community for that.”
Aaron Fleming, the chair of the referendum committee, commended staffers for how they’ve handled working in a district that has had financial issues for decades.
“You’ve run a school district in a deficit 19 out of 20 years, and you do a good job,” he said. “The sense of belonging that my children feel from these two buildings is immense, and this threatens students’ sense of belonging. That sense of belonging is the purpose of school, and these cuts attack that sense of belonging.”
Fleming also discussed the social media opposition to the referendum, and how to tackle that the next time that the district puts a referendum question on the ballot.
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“There is absolute venom on social media,” he said. “There are people who just don’t want their taxes raised, and that’s a hard group to combat. There are people who are anti-educators. They think that teachers don’t work hard enough for the money that they get — their tax dollars. That’s a hard group to combat. We have to have some help on social media.”
Another speaker suggested information also be spread in both English and Spanish, to more effectively educate Spanish-speaking families in the community.
Gurnee Mayor Tom Hood told the board that it was a “sad day” when the referendum didn’t pass two months ago. He advised board members on how he handled inaccuracies spread on social media during his campaign, and how they can target that when they put another question on the ballot.
Hood also said district officials should “pick the right number” when they propose their new referendum question, because the .35% limiting rate increase “seemed low” to him.
“If you go all out, you might as well ask for what you need,” he said. “If you ask for less than what you need and then you’re back in a couple of years, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”
Board member Natalia Alvarez Martinez also addressed how to talk to parents whose children have aged out of the district, or residents who don’t have children. She said focus needs to be placed on the impact that the school district’s financial problems will have on real estate prices.
“If we don’t have a good high school, we don’t have football, we don’t have basketball, we don’t have fans. Why would a new family look at Gurnee to settle in?” Martinez said. “It’s a whole domino effect.”
The district is planning on hosting two forums in which officials will discuss the district’s financial problems and the upcoming referendum question on July 14 and Aug. 10.