Schools
D67 Chooses What To Ask For In Referendum
They worried that they might have asked for too little and then had to ask the community for more money in a subsequent referendum.
Board members looked concerned at their Thursday evening meeting when a financial consultant and an attorney explained options for the referendum Golf School District 67 wants to put on November's ballot.
In the election last March, voters defeated the district's two referendum questions. Now, the district, which educates students from Morton Grove and Niles, is persisting in its efforts to ask for the money.
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Earlier:
At Thursday's meeting, financial consultant Elizabeth Hennessy, with William Blair & Company, said that the district was operating in the dark in terms of what it should ask for on the ballot because the Illinois Department of Revenue has not yet determined the 2012 multiplier. (It does so based on information from the Cook County Assessor's Office.)
Find out what's happening in Niles-Morton Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Because of that, and because the value of property in the district has decreased, she said District 67 ran the risk of passing the referendum and still not having enough money to pay its bills.
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"If we can’t predict the EAV (equalized assessed valuation), we are at risk of not getting all the dollars we need," Hennessy told board members.
"After getting the referendum passed (assuming it passes in November), not to get the money that you need would be tragic.
"So I’m nervous about that."
To avoid that scenario, she advised board members to avoid a ballot question that asks for revenue based on the "limiting rate," and instead adopt a ballot question that asks for revenue based on the consumer price index.
Board members followed her recommendation and voted unanimously to OK the ballot question that bases the increase on the consumer price index.
Two questions in November referendum
Two questions will face district voters on the November ballot.
The first, a bond referendum for school facilities and construction, will ask voters for $7.987 million. That's $1.733 million less than the district asked for in last spring's election.
The second question asks voters for $1.140 million the same as last spring. To do this, it asks for a percentage increase in the tax levy.
Patch will continue to cover this issue.
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