U‑46 board holds public hearing on proposed 2025 levy; administration requests defensive 4.99% increase
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Summary
School District U‑46 administrators presented the proposed 2025 tax levy (a $402.6 million levy request) and explained statutory limits that will likely reduce the district’s actual revenue increase to approximately 2.9% plus new construction; the public hearing opened and closed with no public comments.
The School District U‑46 Board of Education opened a public hearing on Nov. 17, 2025, to review the district’s proposed 2025 tax levy and to explain how state law constrains the amount the district can actually collect.
Board President Melissa Owens declared the hearing open. Finance staff explained the difference between a levy (the district’s request) and the extension (the revenue collected after county calculations), and framed the levy as a tool to preserve instruction, transportation and building safety amid ongoing inflation and timing disruptions from county processing.
Administration presented a proposed total levy request of $402,600,000. Officials said state law (the property tax extension limitation law, commonly called PTELL) limits what the district may receive to the CPI cap (2.9% in 2025) plus the value of new construction. Presenters estimated the district’s 2025 extension -- the likely revenue to be received after county adjustments -- at roughly $365,400,000, and said the net additional revenue the district expects to capture is about $12.8 million (approximately a 3.65% increase under current assumptions). The presenters emphasized that the 4.99% request is a defensive measure to allow for unknown county assessment and exemption changes.
County differences were explained for the public: Cook County assesses at 10% of fair market value while Kane and DuPage use 33.3%, and homestead exemptions vary by county; staff gave a sample homeowner impact for a $250,000 property but cautioned that individual impacts will vary and that the board’s request will be reduced by county calculations before final bills are issued.
The board asked technical questions about bond-and-interest line items and a timeline labeling error on one slide; administrators acknowledged a slide typo and said materials would be corrected. The administration noted adoption of the levy will be recommended at the board’s Dec. 15, 2025, meeting and that the district must file levy paperwork with county clerks by the last Tuesday in December.
President Owens closed the hearing after administrators indicated there were no public comments. The hearing satisfied the notice requirements of the Truth in Taxation Act; county clerks will adjust the requested levy to ensure compliance with PTELL before revenue is extended to the district.
Next steps: the administration intends to present the Truth in Taxation Certificate and the final Certificate of Tax Levy for board action on Dec. 15, and to publish required notices in the three counties served by the district.
