Bannockburn School District Cuts Tax Levy By 5%

BANNOCKBURN, IL — The Bannockburn School District 106 Board of Education unanimously voted to reduce this upcoming year’s tax levy from $5,796,231 to $5,496,223 at its meeting Tuesday. According to board member Jake Leahy, district administrators first recommended a decrease of $100,000 in the upcoming year’s tax levy. Instead, the board decided to cut the levy by $300,000, which is equal to a reduction of the levy by more than 5 percent.

“Given the district's reserves which exceed the state suggested threshold, I would like to see a greater reduction in the tax levy,” 18-year-old Leahy – the youngest elected official in Illinois – said on social media ahead of the meeting, as he called for a greater reduction in the levy than the recommended $100,000.

After the unanimous vote, Leahy said he hoped it could send a message to other taxing bodies.

“A primary goal of mine on the school board is to provide an example of good government and fiscal responsibility for the rest of the state. This one step demonstrates fiscally conservative leadership can begin to turn Illinois around," Leahy said in a Facebook post. "While other local districts are irresponsibly accumulating mountains of debt and raising taxes year after year, today's 7-0 vote should send a message to other local units of government and to Springfield politicians that the tax and spend status quo can be put to an end.”

With this vote, the district continues its trend of lowering or keeping its levy flat for every year since 2008. Leahy said this year's reduction was the largest the district has seen in recent years.

Bannockburn District 106 services students in Bannockburn, portions of Riverwoods, unincorporated Deerfield, and Highland Park.

_{Top photo: Bannockburn School | Courtesy District 106}