District 15 projects property tax levy increase

Palatine Township School District 15 is tentatively projecting a 4.9% increase in its property tax levy for 2020, including a 2.3% cost-of-living increase plus new property growth.

Diana McCluskey, the district's chief school business official, presented her plan at the school board meeting Wednesday night. The projected $136.1 million levy includes an estimated 0.5% increase in the district's equalized assessed value and an estimated $20 million in new construction, McCluskey said.

The increase would amount to an average additional $73 on property tax bills for the owner of a home with a 2019 market value of $350,000, McCluskey said. However, that's "a really high-level guess," she said.

The projected increase is just below the 5% threshold that requires a public hearing under the state's Truth-in-Taxation law.

The school board approved the tentative tax levy without discussion Wednesday and is expected to adopt the final levy Dec. 9. McCluskey said she will continue fine-tuning her calculations, "but right now I think that's pretty close to what I would recommend next month, too."

The district's property tax base includes 76% from residential properties and 24% from commercial and other types of properties.

District 15 taxes are the largest amount on tax bills for residents of Palatine, or about 35.4%, and residents of Rolling Meadows, at about 33.5%, who live within its boundaries.