D-165 referendum question on ballot
By AMBER KROSEL - akrosel@nwherald.com
MARENGO – With less than two weeks until the April 7 general election, supporters are continuing to inform residents about the District 165 referendum.
Superintendent Lea Damisch has spoken at more than a dozen venues herself in the past few months, and recently said she remains optimistic about the prospects of a successful referendum.
“Many of the people I’ve talked with have been very understanding and nice, whether they are in support of it or not,” Damisch said.
The district is asking voters for a 48-cent property tax rate increase per $100 of a home’s assessed value. This would help prevent further education cuts and relieve a $2.5 million debt, district officials said.
For the owner of a $200,000 home who takes the $5,500 homestead exemption, it would cost about $293 more a year. District officials put out information that does not deduct the homestead exemption, so those calculations are slightly higher.
The new limiting rate would be $2.29 – 6 cents less than the rate in 1997, which has been steadily falling since then because of tax cap laws.
After an unsuccessful referendum last year in which voters rejected by a 2-to-1 margin a 53-cent increase, class sizes and registration fees increased to balance the budget. Music and art for kindergarten through fifth grade also were cut.
Seventeen teaching and other full-time positions have been eliminated since the 2007-08 school year, saving $825,000 a year.
Without a tax-rate increase, at least four more teachers would be cut and all extra-curricular activities – sports and clubs included – would be eliminated. Class sizes would jump to 30-plus students, and many middle school students no longer would have the option of some accelerated classes and exploratory Spanish.
The distance between bus stops also would increase to a maximum of 1.5 miles in some locations.
A successful referendum would help re-establish as many as five teaching positions and music and art for younger students, lower registration fees, and pay off the accumulated debt within four to six years.
Damisch added that the referendum would not affect the amount the district receives from the tiered state aid formula.
The district has the lowest property tax rate of all elementary schools in McHenry County, and the only one less than $2. It would be the second lowest – after Riley District 18 – if the new rate was approved.
The increases would not take effect until 2010, school officials said.
District 165 serves about 1,200 elementary students from the Marengo-Union area.
