Center Cass Deciding On Tax Hike Election

DARIEN, IL — Center Cass School District 66 is expected to decide Tuesday on whether to hold a referendum on raising property taxes nearly 25 percent.

The district, which serves parts of Darien and Downers Grove, maintains it is running out of money and that it needs to increase taxes to make ends meet.

On Tuesday, the school board is set to vote on whether to schedule the referendum on June 28, when primary elections are being held.

Also at the meeting, the board is expected to discuss eliminating four teacher positions and two teacher's aide positions. The district notes it could bring back one or more of the positions if the referendum passes.

As with any other school district, salaries account for the overwhelming majority of Center Cass' budget.

Patch looked at the average teacher salaries in Center Cass and a dozen nearby elementary school districts. At $79,390, Center Cass was fourth highest, according to the Illinois Report Card.

Hinsdale District 181, which is in a wealthy town, topped the list at $92,302. Downers Grove District 58 and Gower District 62 followed at $83,691 and $81,988, respectively. In response, Center Cass Superintendent Andrew Wise presented information that he said showed the average DuPage County teacher's salary was $79,687, slightly more than Center Cass'.

Here are the average salaries from the Illinois Report Card:

In an email to resident Sylvia McIvor on Friday, Wise said he did not believe his district's employees received high salaries.

"The District has been reducing personnel and non-personnel costs," Wise said. "We absolutely need the personnel we have, but have had no choice but to cut many positions (more will be proposed at the board meeting)."

Wise said the district has been running for a long time on less money on average than two-thirds of the county.

"With a tax rate in the lower third and an assessed value in the lower third to apply the tax rate to, we do not bring in enough revenue to meet student's needs," Wise said.

He said the tax increase would not be considered permanent.

"The rate can also decrease via levying less or when bonds roll off. It takes voter approval to renew expiring bonds," Wise said.

In her response Friday, McIvor said she believed it was "extremely deceptive" to say the tax increase was not permanent. She pointed to a presentation from the district's financial adviser that says the rate increase was permanent.

McIvor, a former Darien alderman, called Wise's assertion about employees' salaries not being high "insulting and tone-deaf."

"You must be comparing your $200+K/year salary to those of your employees in the six figure range," McIvor said in an email. "The fact that you are not considering renegotiating contracts that account for 75-80% of the District's costs is ludicrous, based on our current financial state."

She said the district has endured several years of overspending and is continuing an unsustainable teacher's union contract.

Under a district proposal, taxes for a $300,000 house would go up by $500 to $550 a year, depending on a number of factors. That would amount to a hike in property taxes of nearly 25 percent.

The increase would bring in $3 million more a year, according to the district.

The school board is meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Prairieview Elementary School.

According to the Illinois Report Card, here's the percentage of teachers with master's degrees at Center Cass and comparison school districts: