Dist. 211 debates keeping tax levy flat
Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 board members Thursday began a debate of admininstrators' recommendation to keep this year's property tax levy at exactly the same $216 million as last year's.
Not raising the levy at all would mean this year's would have the lowest increase District 211 has seen in a decade, and no board members suggested it should be any higher.
But Board Member Peter Dombrowski suggested the district could go even further than a flat levy - using an additional $1.3 million of current reserves to pay down even more of this year's debt payments and better serve the interests of senior residents whose Social Security payments won't be rising.
Such a scenario was presented by administrators along with their recommended option. The sole difference would be using $2 million of reserves to pay this year's $3.3 million of debt or using reserves for all of it.
Chief Operating Officer Lauren Hummel and Controller Barbara Peterson said they favored holding onto just a little more of current reserves to keep the district adaptable to such future unknowns as rising costs, potential litigation and pending legislation that could affect the district's share of state funding.
Going with their recommended option, they said, would cost the owner of a $250,000 house in Hoffman Estates only $14 more than the other option.
Superintendent Dan Cates said the lack of an approved budget by the state makes this year's unknowns even more significant than usual.
"Our recommendation is to prudently budget and provide a flat levy," Cates said.
Board member Mike Scharringhausen voiced his support for the flat levy option, but Dombrowski held his ground.
"There are a lot of variables, but we do know that our seniors aren't going to see an increase in their Social Security."
Democratic state Rep. Michelle Mussman of Schaumburg had spoken earlier, urging sensitivity to residents without the means to pay for the highest and best facilities and programs.
The board will further discuss the levy at a committee meeting on Nov. 4, set the levy amount on Nov. 12, and vote on its final approval on Dec. 10.