District 30, District 34 Boards Approve 2018 Property Tax Levy

GLENVIEW, IL — School boards of Glenview School District 34 and Northbrook/Glenview District 30 approved their 2018 property tax levy requests last week. Under Illinois "tax cap" Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, school districts must approve property tax levy requests before the value of new construction in districts is known.

New taxable property includes any additions or improvements that boost a lot's assessed value. Any proposed levy that is more than 5 percent higher than the prior year requires a public hearing to be held. Both District 34 and District 30 held public hearings, although only it was only legally required in District 30.

On Dec. 10, the District 34 board approved a 4.99 percent increase to its proposed property tax levy, although the actual extension is projected to be 2.64 percent. The board also held a public hearing on its intention to sell up to $9.8 million in working cash fund bonds. There were no public comments from the community, and the board will take action on the bond issue at its Jan. 14 meeting.

On Dec. 13, the District 30 board approved an "artificially high" levy request of 10 percent. Superintendent Brian Wegley said the amount was "significantly higher than we expect to realize." The levy amount will not be finalized until new growth from new property is known in the summer, he said.

Superintendent of Finance and Operations Dale Falk said District 30's philosophy is to always levy 10 percent, since "there's no penalty for asking for too much," he told Pioneer Press, but not asking for enough creates a compounding effect. He said the district expects the final levy increase will be around 3 percent.