District reviews tax-rate breakdown and three bond scenarios to finance capital work

District staff and a municipal advisor presented a multi-part review of property-tax composition, levy mechanics in Cook County, and bond scenarios to support capital projects including the Early Childhood Center and Highland School renovations.

Kenya, the district presenter on tax matters, summarized the tax base, noting commercial and residential composition and homeowner impact: "commercial is roughly 45% of our tax dollars," she said, and added that school property taxes account for roughly 2.9% of a typical homeowner’s bill in the district. The presentation included sample homeowner bills and comparisons of equalized assessed values (EAV) and per-pupil EAV among neighboring feeder elementary districts.

A municipal market advisor (introduced at the meeting) reviewed the municipal market context and a new Illinois law that allows life-safety bonds for state-approved projects to be issued outside the tax limitation framework. The advisor walked trustees through the district’s debt-service extension base, existing outstanding payments, and three working-cash bond scenarios: an $8.6 million tax-exempt option (estimated to raise the tax rate ~8.8 cents, approximately $98 on a $400,000 home), a midpoint ~$6.0–6.2 million option (approx. $45 impact on a $400,000 home), and a $4.6 million scenario timed for February 2026 designed to avoid increasing the current debt-service levy. The board discussed timing, petition periods and the requirement to publish notice and allow a 30-day petition window that could force a referendum if 10% of registered voters petitioned.

Trustees asked clarifying questions on the scenarios, taxpayer impacts, and fund-balance implications; administration and advisors said more analysis would follow if the board chose to proceed toward a resolution of intent.