DeKalb School District 428 fails to pass controversial tax levy

DeKALB – It was standing room only this week when the DeKalb School District 428 board failed to muster enough support to pass its controversial property tax levy, as crowds showed up to ask for relief on their tax bills.

Residents will have another chance to weigh in at a special school board meeting expected next week. Details on the meeting have not yet been released as of Thursday. Two votes on the property tax levy – a tool used by governments to collect revenue for operations – failed. Under the law, the elected body needs to approve a levy before the end of the year.

So many showed up to the school board meeting that the crowd spilled out into the hallway at District 428 Education Center, 901 S. Fourth St. In a 3-4 vote, a decision to back the district’s property tax levy failed. The dissenting votes were cast by board members Amanda Harness, Christopher Boyes, Andre Powell and Steven Byers.

DeKalb resident Christie Krupp urged board members to remember who they’re serving.

“The group that you signed an oath to represent and respect, the only group, is not the administration of District 428,” Krupp said. “It’s not the students. It’s not the teachers here. It’s the taxpayers. That’s because the taxpayers have the benefit of being invested in the community, having kids here for decades and hoping that their kids and grandchildren stay here. That’s your unique position as board members. We want you to say no to this tax levy.”

Multiple residents and community members shared a common refrain: They urged the school board to bring tax relief instead of a proposal which, if approved, would see homeowners paying hundreds more on their 2023 property tax bills than last year. Public school property taxes generally account for the majority of residents’ tax bills.

The district had reached a consensus at a recent special meeting to proceed with considering a proposal with an estimated tax rate of 5.52%. While the district has proposed a lower tax rate this year than the prior, taxpayers may still see an uptick in what they owe on their bills, board documents show.

Superintendent Minerva Garcia-Sanchez said she wants people to know that the property tax levy is only a portion of the district’s funding.

“We are at that point. We’re giving you exactly what you asked us for. Now what I’m understanding is you’re asking us to give up more,” said Garcia-Sanchez. “I need to understand what that is because we still have to cover our current costs and our growing costs. We have to pay our bills and those bills are going up. Everything is more and more expensive.”

City officials also spoke at the meeting. Mayor Cohen Barnes once again urged the school board to do its part to bring taxpayer relief in a time when economic development means municipalities can bring in more revenue at no extra cost to residents.

Barnes pointed to the economic activity on the city’s south side, saying the district is better off because of it.

“No one at all is talking about cutting services,” Barnes said. “In fact, what the city has been doing, what many of the community have been doing is everything we can to increase the budgets of the school district. That’s exactly what this is about. We’re in a time of unprecedented, historic economic development. What that means is more tax revenue coming in.”

In recent years, the city has seen a wave of activity and more revenue come with new south side developments such as the Meta DeKalb Data Center, retail giant Amazon, Kraft Heinz, confectioner Ferrara Candy Co. and more.

Public reacts

Former school board member Jeff Hallgren said he takes issue with the district’s administration’s tax levy proposals. Hallgren was elected in 2017 and chose not to run again in 2021.

“The board I served with understood our responsibilities and chose not to raise taxes for three years,” Hallgren said. “We did this because we knew that we needed to attract homebuyers to DeKalb. Our property taxes are very high. It is those homeowners that do not have children in the system that make our school district run. Taxpayers with children in the system whether they rent or own draw out more than they pay. We need to keep those taxpayers that do not have children in the system.”

Some argued that the board’s tax levy proposal in absence of an abatement undermines the taxpayer by raising taxes to pay for a new elementary school.

In March, the district approved a $1.86 million lease-to-purchase agreement with Northern Illinois University as the latest step in a $33 million plan to turn NIU’s former School of Nursing building into a new elementary school. Officials have said a school is needed to help balance enrollment size and student-to-teacher ratios. District staff have said the plan won’t include a referendum.

The district had previously reached a consensus on a tax rate option for its levy: 5.52% compared to 5.98% which was put forward as an option in November and, if approved, would have added upwards of $400 more on residents’ property tax bills. The proposed property tax rates are down slightly from a 6% rate in 2022.

According to district estimates, under a 5.52% levy rate, a DeKalb homeowner who’s home is worth $375,555 in 2023 would owe $6,579 on their 2023 property tax bill compared to $6,598 in 2022. That’s a difference of $20. Previous district calculations used property values from 2016 in its estimates.

That proposal, however, doesn’t include abatements beyond one year.

Will Heinisch, of the DeKalb Area Rental Association, said he wants the district to think about longterm tax relief.

“The dirty little secret is that they want to temporarily abate this for one year,” Heinisch said. “That means in 2024, our rate goes back up. … As the citizens, we do not want a temporary one-year tax abatement discount relief grant. That’s what the lawyers were babbling about at the last meeting forever and everybody got confused.”

Board Vice President Steven Byers, who previously worked as a science teacher at Huntley Middle School, said he feels the district administration is misleading the public.

“We didn’t know that abatements would need to be a part of this equation,” Byers said. “We weren’t informed of that. Now I know me personally, it feels like with the abatement talk, we’re really talking about double-dipping because the abatements we’re getting federal funding for.”

A new tax levy proposal with a tax rate of 5.1% was floated by the board for consideration. However, the new option had not been published on the meeting agenda ahead of time to allow the board to vote on it.