Oak Park and River Forest homeowners would pay $105 more per year in property taxes on a $400,000 home under a tentative tax levy the District 200 board advanced in a 6-1 vote.
The levy totals $90,568,000, a 4.01% increase over the prior year, the Wednesday Journal reported. The board plans to hold a public hearing on the levy at its Dec. 3 meeting and is expected to vote on final approval that night.
Board member Josh Gertz cast the only vote against the tentative levy.
What 'recapture' means for your tax bill
Tucked inside the levy is $850,000 the district is "recapturing." Here's the background: Illinois law caps how much local governments can raise their levy each year, limited to the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 5%, whichever is less. In 2023 and 2024, the District 200 board levied less than that legal maximum, leaving roughly $2.1 million on the table.
A 2022 state law gave school districts and other local governments a three-year window to go back and collect amounts they could have levied but didn't. The district recaptured $700,000 of that total last year. This year, the administration recommended accelerating the recapture to $850,000, leaving only $350,000 available to collect next year.
The reason for the acceleration: next year's CPI number is expected to be high, and administrators did not want to risk running up against the tax cap, according to the Wednesday Journal.
Without the recapture, the levy increase would have been 3.13%.
Gertz dissents
Gertz told the Wednesday Journal he opposes the recapture mechanism on principle. He said he favors taking only what the district needs each year and going to referendum if costs exceed the tax cap, rather than reaching back for uncollected dollars.
Proponents of the recapture said a big increase in special education costs made it necessary, the Wednesday Journal reported. The article did not name which board members or administrators made that argument at the meeting.
Special education costs have been a growing pressure point for the district. In an August budget report, OPRF Director of Finance Brian Imhoff said special education outplacement costs at specialized schools continue to increase at a rapid rate. Special education expenses were projected to rise by about $1 million, or around 18%, in the current fiscal year, according to that August report.
What homeowners would pay
The projected annual tax increase by home value:
- $400,000 home: $105
- $550,000 home: $148
- $700,000 home: $191
- $850,000 home: $234
- $1 million home: $277
Deficits on the horizon
Even with the levy approved, the district's financial outlook tightens quickly. The district forecasts a surplus of just over $7.2 million in the 2027-28 school year, but that surplus is projected to shrink to about $416,000 in 2028-29. The district is forecasting deficits of roughly $4.2 million in the 2029-30 and 2030-31 school years, according to the Wednesday Journal.
Those projections have the administration planning significant budget cuts: $1 million next year, $900,000 in 2028-29, then $4.8 million in 2029-30 and $4.5 million in 2030-31.
The public hearing on the levy is set for the board's Dec. 3 meeting at Oak Park and River Forest High School.
