The Evanston Township High School Board of Education held a public hearing earlier this month and announced it is considering approving $21 million in bonds to fund capital projects, which could raise property taxes for District 202 residents in Evanston and Skokie. ETHS District 202 officials said the money would be for locker room renovations, window replacements, construction costs for the studio theater, roofing work, IT projects and updating the school’s HVAC system — among other projects. The board is expected to cast a binding vote at its November board meeting.
The board is expected to decide if the district will issue $6 million in bonds to be used for the capital projects, and $15 million in bonds said to be for projects related to the safety and welfare of students.
Ordinarily, the school board would not be able to issue this bond amount without a referendum that asks taxpayers, but a 2024 law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker exempts tax levy increases related to fire prevention and safety projects.
Board member Leah Piekarz said updating the school’s HVAC system in the gym wing is “not a luxury issue.”
“With the earlier school year start [and] with our rising temperatures … it really does disrupt instruction,” she said, referring to the hotness in the gym because there is no air conditioning. “It’s really about health when students have, you know, asthma, for example.”
CFO Kendra Williams said the district has been wanting to update its HVAC system for some time, “but just have not had the means to do” it
With the bond issue, a home with an assessed value of $500,000 would see a tax increase between $39 and $65 on the school district’s portion of the tax bill, depending on the terms of the bond sale, per district documents.According to the Cook County Assessor’s Office, the median sale price for a single-family home in Evanston is $675,000, the median condo cost is $265,000 and $620,000 for a multi-family unit.
The city of Evanston is also considering raising property taxes
More Top Picks Balance Bikes
after keeping the levy flat for five years. If approved by the City Council in its upcoming budget season, the levy increases for the city and its library could raise the average total property tax bill by 2.4%.The Board of Education is expected to meet Nov. 10 to vote on the bonds.