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Board debates returning county school facility occupational tax to ballot
Summary
The DeKalb CUSD 428 Board of Education debated whether to ask DeKalb County voters again to impose a retail and service occupational tax to fund school facilities, school resource officers and mental-health professionals.
The DeKalb CUSD 428 Board of Education debated whether to ask DeKalb County voters again to impose a retail and a service occupational tax to fund school facilities, school resource officers and mental-health professionals. The board considered a resolution directing regional superintendents to certify the tax question to the county clerk for placement on the April 1, 2025, ballot.
Board members pressed staff on why the question was being returned to the ballot after a prior public vote rejected it. A board member asked, “So why are we putting this back on here? What school is asking us to do this?” Stacy (staff member) replied that superintendents across the county had asked the countywide measure be re-submitted, and that the earlier discussion had included a request to allow an open-session revote to put it back on the ballot.
The exchange included specifics about district positions: Stacy said Sycamore had publicly indicated it would not ask for the measure again; Indian Creek and Hinckley-Big Rock were described as the smallest districts and not voting for it; “the rest of the school districts’ superintendents have asked that we consider” returning it to the ballot.
A board member voiced frustration with reintroducing the measure after a voter rejection, asking, “So we’re just out here beating down our voters after they say no to something?” Another board member framed the proposal as giving voters another choice while noting voters could again reject it.
The text of the motion considered by the board read in part: “...the resolution directing the regional superintendents of schools for the county of DeKalb, Illinois to certify to the county clerk... the questions of imposing a retail occupational tax and a service occupational tax to be used exclusively for school facility purposes, school resource officer officers, and mental health professionals for submission to the electors of said county at the general election to be held on the 1st April 2025.”
Recorded roll-call votes during the motion (as spoken on the record) were: Steve Byers — No; Arielle Owens — Yes; Christopher Boyes — No; Daisy Ramirez — Yes; Dante/Ante Bynum — Yes; Amanda Harness — No; Fred Davis — No. Based on the recorded votes in the meeting transcript, the motion did not receive a majority of recorded yes votes and therefore was not approved.
Why it matters: a countywide retail and service occupational tax would affect all county employers and workers and would be dedicated, per the resolution text, to school facilities, school resource officers and mental-health professionals. Returning the question to voters gives residents a chance to decide again, but several board members questioned whether resubmitting a previously rejected proposal would erode public trust.
The board moved on to the next agenda items after the vote; the transcript does not record further steps or new language for a future ballot submittal.
