District 303 board meeting may be time for opposition to speak up
When the St. Charles Unit District 303 school board meets Monday night it may not be board members who do most of the talking.
School board members are not expected to discuss the results of the final Summit 303 meeting that suggested residents may be willing to support a tax increase to fund renovation or reconstruction of all 17 buildings in the district.
Instead, the school board will view and receive a formal presentation of the recommendations by summit leaders.
However, the school board may be prompted to respond to what may be the strongest turnout of residents opposed to a potential tax increase yet.
Opponents, particularly in the Wild Rose attendance area, have become more vocal and more organized in the aftermath of the final summit meeting.
A strong show of opposition may help refute summit results and give school board members something to think about as they await results of a survey that will also affect their decision whether to put a tax increase question on the April ballot.
The phone survey will poll 500 registered voters chosen at random. Results will be broken down into demographic groups so the school board can gauge if, for example, senior citizens find the idea of tax increase harder to swallow than other groups.
Behind the scenes Monday, school board members will review the resumes of candidates to fill the board seat vacated by Bob Lindahl last month. The replacement most likely will be seated Dec. 19 at a special school board meeting to interview candidates.
Whomever is seated ultimately will have to win the seat in the April elections to stay on the board. However, the new board member will be in place to help decide if the district should seek a tax increase.
That decision is expected in January. The board is scheduled to meet Jan. 20 and Jan. 29 to discuss the possible referendum and make a decision. There will be public comment periods for residents to share their views on the referendum.
Monday's meeting begins at 5 p.m. at the school district administration building.