School sales tax referendum a go for DeKalb County voters in November

DeKALB – DeKalb County voters will have another referendum on their November ballots, which will ask whether they support a new 1% sales tax that would collect an estimated $10 million for public school districts countywide.

The referendum was given the green light this week after a vote by the DeKalb School District 428 Board. As the county’s biggest district serving the largest population of students, DeKalb’s approval meant enough officials had enough buy-in to bring the question to voters on election day. The Sycamore School District 427 Board approved the referendum a week ago.

The District 428 board approved the measure in a 4-3 vote Tuesday, with support from board President Deyci Ramirez, Secretary Ariel Owens and members Vanta Bynum and Fred Davis.

Davis said he wanted to let the community weigh in.

“I feel like as a taxpayer – and I pay a lot of taxes – trust me when I tell you that I get everybody’s complaint, but I also feel like it’s up to the taxpayer to make that decision,” Davis said. “If they want to go vote, then they go vote. You have that right, and that’s a privilege. I will be there to vote, and that’s exactly why I voted yes.”

In order to place a sales tax referendum on the November ballot, school districts representing more than 50% of students enrolled in DeKalb County had to authorize the referendum. With DeKalb’s support, the referendum is a go.

The new sales tax – dubbed the DeKalb County Area School Districts County School Facility Occupation Tax – would tax all items that already are taxed by municipal and county sales taxes except cars, trucks, boats, mobile homes, farm equipment and various services, officials have said.

[ New sales tax in DeKalb County for public schools? Here's what we know ]

Ramirez echoed Davis’s sentiment.

“I also agree to give people the option to decide for themselves,” Ramirez said. “This not something that we ourselves are passing.”

DeKalb also joined the Sandwich, Somonauk and Hiawatha school districts in authorizing the referendum.

If passed by the voters, DeKalb school officials said they intend to use any funds generated from the tax to pay for school facility purposes, school resource officers and mental health professionals.

Sycamore school officials have previously said they believe the new tax could generate an estimated $10 million to be split among the districts proportionally based on their student population size.