Relatively Low Taxes In Elmhurst D205: Official

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst School District 205 has relatively low costs and taxes compared with other districts, an official said this week.

Chris Whelton, the district's assistant superintendent of finance, presented statistics as he was making the case for increasing property taxes to the maximum allowed.

He showed a bar graph demonstrating that District 205's tax rate is lower than six other kindergarten-through-12th grade districts. They are wealthy districts with similarities to Elmhurst.

The districts are Barrington 220, Wheaton-based District 200, Geneva 304, Indian Prairie 204, Naperville 203 and St. Charles 303.

Whelton also said Elmhurst had the second lowest operating costs per student among the districts with the top 10 rated Illinois high schools.

Elmhurst was at $15,698 per student. The highest was Lake Forest 115 at $29,174, followed by New Trier at $27,429. Only Indian Prairie, which serves students in Naperville, Plainfield, Bolingbrook and other towns, was lower than Elmhurst, at $13,423.

As for administrative costs per student, Elmhurst's was the fourth lowest among 381 kindergarten-through-12th grade districts in Illinois in 2021, Whelton said.

"The result is that we provide a great value to the Elmhurst community," Whelton said.

According to the district, 82 percent of its income comes from local property taxes. Another 7 percent comes from other local sources.

Because Elmhurst is wealthy compared to most Illinois towns, only a small fraction of its money comes from the state and federal governments.