By Chris Fox
At the Dec. 19 meeting of the Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board, a brief public hearing was held on the adoption of the 2023 tax levy. Christopher Whelton, the district’s assistant superintendent for finance and operations, gave a presentation during the hearing.
Whelton had given a similar presentation during the last regular board meeting, which took place on Tuesday, Nov. 14. During the public hearing, Whelton reiterated that property taxes for 2023 are collected in June 2024 and in September 2024. He also mentioned that the levy is a request, while an extension is what actually ends up on tax bills.
Whelton stated that the operating extension is limited by the tax cap, which limits the extension to the lesser of the consumer price index (CPI), or 5 percent. The CPI increased 6.5 percent for the 12 months ending in December 2022. The 2023 levy, therefore, will be based on the 5 percent cap.
Information provided by the district indicated the total 2023 tax levy is more than $151.7 million, which includes about $135.8 million in capped funds and about $15.9 million in funds related to bonds and interest.
According to Whelton, a district resident who owns a home with a market value of $500,000 could expect his or her District 205 share of their property taxes to go up about 4.9 percent, or about $280, from the 2022 levy.
Whelton stated that District 205 has about 1,200 permanent employees. He said that more than 340 of those employees are residents of Elmhurst. Whelton also noted that school districts are impacted by inflation, and that the district is facing historic labor shortages, as well as an historic increase in health insurance premiums.
In addition to providing several financial details during his presentation, Whelton touted District 205, saying it delivered a high return on investment, offered robust and high-quality programming and provided students with a wide range of elective courses.
Shortly after the public hearing was declared over, board members voted 6-1 to approve a resolution for the 2023 certificate of levy. Board member Jim Collins cast the sole vote against the resolution.
During the previous board meeting on Nov. 14, Collins cast the only vote against a resolution regarding the estimated amounts necessary to be levied for 2023. Before voting to approve the resolution for the 2023 certificate of levy on Dec. 19, Collins said the district increased property taxes 6.25 percent in 2021, 5 percent in 2022, and were about to increase property taxes 5.7 percent in 2023. Collins said he could support a 2023 increase of 3, 3.5 or possibly 4 percent, but not an increase of 5 percent.
Board president Athena Arvanitis said the board’s decisions related to tax levies are not easy and the board needs to consider, with equal weight, two competing interests—the district’s taxpayers and the needs of the district’s students.
