Prospect Heights SD 23 staff recommend 4.21% preliminary property tax levy; Truth in Taxation hearing set for Dec. 12

Prospect Heights School District 23 finance staff recommended the Board of Education advance a draft 2024 tentative property tax levy that would raise the district’s corporate and special-purpose levy by 4.21%.

"At this time, we are recommending moving forward with a levy of 4.21% based on our assumptions of 3.4% CPI (Capped) and $3,000,000 in new construction," stated Amy McPartlin, Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations, in the district memorandum provided to the board (SEG 020, SEG 027). The district’s memo explains the cap is set by the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) and notes the 2022 Consumer Price Index rate of 3.4% as the basis for the CPI-limited increase (SEG 023).

The draft notice included with the packet lists the district’s 2023 corporate and special-purpose taxes as $21,822,634 and the proposed 2024 amount as $22,741,000 — a 4.21% increase (SEG 031–033). The packet also shows an estimated total levy for 2024 of $24,163,843, described as a 3.84% increase over the prior year (SEG 036–037). The memorandum says the board will authorize publication of the notice in the Daily Herald and hold a Truth in Taxation public hearing on Dec. 12, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. at the Grodsky Administration Center; the district requested publication on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024 (SEG 030, SEG 045–046).

The memorandum frames the draft levy as a maximum allowable amount intended to generate revenues sufficient to meet rising operating costs while complying with statutory limits. It lists exemptions to the cap — including approved bond and interest levies and value from new property — and explains a supplemental levy may be needed for debt service tied to the district’s Series 2022 bonds (SEG 021–026, SEG 026). Final adoption of the levy is scheduled for the Dec. 12 board meeting after the public hearing; the packet does not record a final vote at the Nov. 7 meeting.