Central CUSD 301 board approves tentative 2025 tax levy after presentation and public comment

The Central CUSD 301 Board of Education on Thursday approved a tentative 2025 tax levy request after a staff presentation and a period of public comment.

District finance staff told the board they plan to ask for a levy of $60,910,000 while expecting to collect about $60,000,860, a figure staff said is under the 5 percent threshold that would trigger a Truth in Taxation hearing. Staff presented projections that assumed an equalized assessed value of roughly $1.2 billion and about $24.2 million in new construction; staff estimated an overall district tax rate near 4.94–4.95, down from roughly 5.87 the prior year, largely because bond service payments are falling off the levy.

During public comment, Steve Jerger urged the board to reject the levy request and to limit increases to the rate of inflation. "Looking back over the last 6 years, the average consumer price index was 3.9%, but the district's average levy was 6.3 percent," Jerger said, and he asked the board to use fund balances rather than raising taxes.

The district presenter responded that the recommended levy amount is a request to preserve access to available revenues and that asking for the ceiling does not obligate the district to collect more than it is entitled to receive. The presenter also explained the interaction of new construction EAV and bonds rolling off the levy as drivers of the projected tax-rate decline.

After questions from board members about assumptions, timelines and the Truth in Taxation threshold, the board approved the tentative levy in a roll-call vote. The final levy will be set in December and the district will deliver final levy figures to county authorities before the statutory deadline.

Action taken: the board approved the tentative 2025 tax levy; the item will return for final approval at the December meeting.