Board of Education members spent much of their Oct. 6 meeting debating a proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district in Jerome and its potential financial effect on Springfield Public School District 186.

The district’s outside counsel on TIF, Tony Scharing, told the board the village held a public hearing on July 3 and introduced related ordinances but had not passed them. "We're in a bit of a holding pattern right now," Scharing said, noting the village had 90 days after the public hearing to introduce and pass ordinances and that, as of the meeting, they had been introduced but not enacted.

Why it matters: Board members and counsel described an estimated $4,330,000 negative impact to the district over the life of the proposed TIF if the village uses a conservative 1.5% annual growth assumption. Scharing and others said that if property values in the TIF rise faster—he cited a three-year average of 7.3% and an 11% increase in the most recent year—the fiscal loss to the district could be materially larger.

Discussion and options: The village has reportedly retreated from an earlier, district-specific 30% revenue-sharing proposal and instead proposed distributing 30% of new revenue across all taxing districts, which would produce roughly 18–20% for the school district, Scharing said. Board members said the earlier 30% figure (district-specific) was discussed and, at one point, appeared tentatively agreed upon; they urged the village to honor a larger share or to negotiate a cap tied to the project’s actual costs.

Board members discussed possible responses including continued negotiation, asking for a capped payout tied to infrastructure costs, and litigation. Scharing said litigation is an option but cautioned the board to be “judicious” if it pursues legal challenges. Several board members said they preferred renewed negotiation first; one suggested a signed letter from the board to Mayor Lopez asking for further talks before any village vote. "If everybody wants to sign on," one board member said, "just kinda say, look, you know, we've really talked about this and we believe ... we would like to see [the prior] agreement honored." Scharing noted the village may be aiming to act before year-end and had committed to notify the district ahead of any final vote.

Context: Board members and counsel also described recent municipal actions that affect district revenue, including a separate abatement related to the Shields Sports Park that the board said could reduce district receipts by up to $4 million over 10 years. The Jerome TIF, if enacted with the village’s lower growth assumptions, was estimated in the district presentation at $4,330,000 over 23 years.

Next steps: The board will seek further information, consider a joint meeting or correspondence with Jerome leadership, and weigh legal options. No formal board motion regarding the TIF was taken at the Oct. 6 meeting.