District 57 voters support tax increase

Voters Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a tax increase in Mount Prospect Elementary District 57 expected to keep operations on an even keel.

With all 21 precincts reporting, the 5,131 yes votes represented 70.6 percent of the unofficial total.

School board President Joe Sonnefeldt said a tax hike is one issue that no one can ever assume success in advance.

"We just worked as hard as we could to inform the public of the need," Sonnefeldt said. "This gives us the resources to move forward with the status quo operations."

Future board members manage these resources wisely to keep the public engaged, he said.

The ballot question asked for the authority to bill homeowners an additional $238 per year for every $100,000 of property value.

The goal was to avoid drastic cuts to programs and services in the years ahead - including about $850,000 targeted in the 2018-19 school year alone, according to district officials. The forecast cuts included teachers, classroom assistants, assistant principals and programs such as art and music. Other predicted consequences without the tax increase were larger class sizes, plummeting fund balances and deteriorating facilities.

The gradual erosion of the district's financial reserves over the past 20 years were attributed to growing enrollment, the cost of reopening Westbrook School and the impact of the recession, school board members said.