DuPage HSD 88 finance staff outline timeline, propose 4% levy request for 2025

DuPage High School District 88 finance staff reviewed the district’s property tax levy process Oct. 27 and proposed a tentative 4% levy request for 2025, equal to roughly $71.8 million, as the board begins its formal levy timeline.

The presenter explained the difference between a levy (the district’s request) and an extension (the amount the county actually places on tax bills). The Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL, commonly called the tax cap) limits year‑to‑year extension increases to the lesser of 5% or the Consumer Price Index (CPI). For 2024 CPI was 2.9%, so staff said the district’s maximum allowable increase tied to CPI would have been 2.9% plus allowable new property growth.

Finance staff provided a recommended calendar: present a tentative levy at the Nov. 10 board meeting, publish the required public‑hearing notice the day after Thanksgiving, hold a public hearing and adopt the levy on Dec. 8, and certify the levy to the county clerk by the last Tuesday in December. The staff estimate for new property (property added to the tax rolls) is $15 million for planning purposes; the presenter noted assessor conversations suggested new growth may be closer to $10 million but the district kept the $15 million estimate as a cushion.

The presenter explained that last year’s final extension was about $69 million and that the levy becomes the base for future levy calculations. The district’s property tax revenue comprises about 76%–77% of its operating budget in an average year, staff said, and that timing for state and federal aid and capital projects affects cash flow during the year.

No formal vote to set the levy took place Oct. 27; the board will consider the tentative levy at the Nov. 10 meeting and hold the required public hearing and adoption on Dec. 8.