I attended a District 97 referenda presentation recently, hoping to get the information I needed to make a “Yes” vote. Great schools are the bedrock of our quirky but awesome community. I’ve recruited a handful of young families to Oak Park in the past few years. Proximity to downtown, diversity, the el, and our schools all played vital roles in that recruitment. I was eager to hear the “true facts” about the state of D97, rather than “They’ll have to cut the Arts” or “We won’t be able to sell our homes” hyperbole.
The referenda slide deck and road show raised more questions than answers:
• What percent of the referendum funds will be spent in classrooms vs. on administration/overhead?
• How many comparable districts cannot balance their budgets?
• Why is D97’s debt service already higher than the state average?
• Why does D97 say revenues are down when their own financials show them up — dramatically?
• Why did the district not budget for the enrollment growth, when its own consultants re-measured and accurately predicted it in 2013?
To find the answers, I brushed off my journalism training and dug into both Oak Park and Evanston’s school finances and pending referenda. Here’s what I found:
We passed the 2011 referendum and will continue to pay its $38 per $1,000 on our property tax bills (the median Oak Park homeowner now chips in an extra $500/year). This time, the additional tab will be more than $1,000/year, bringing our new annual school bill up by $1,541.50/year for the median household.
I know people are fearful of their home values if schools slash attractive programs and class sizes grow. The future of our real estate investments is fair game. But isn’t it equally true that we might just make it impossible for people to afford the average single-family home in Oak Park if these referenda pass? The median purchase price for a home in Oak Park is now $350,000. The mortgage on that home (with 20% down) would be $1,420/month (without taxes, PMI or insurance, just the mortgage). If the referenda pass, that same “median home” in Oak Park would be paying $1,265/month in property taxes.
How does anyone choose a single-family house in Oak Park under those circumstances? These tax hikes don’t get rolled back. They make Oak Park untenable for the next generation and retirees for decades to come. I think about that and I think about the superior job Evanston has done managing their budget and their referendum communications. Evanston has earned my vote (if I could vote there). Oak Park has not.
The full details and analysis of the D97 referenda “ask” can be found at https://d97factcheck.com.
Elise Cutler-Dysart, an Oak Parker since 2003 is the mother of three, a former Chicago Tribune executive producer (online media), and graduate of Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism.
Clarification from the assessor
Editor’s note: Because numbers can be confusing, we ran Elise Cutler-Dysart’s figures past Oak Park Township Assessor Ali ElSaffar. Here is his response:
This is a very complicated situation.
There are two issues associated with the letter you sent me. First, the reassessment will not hit tax bills until next year. I think Elise is using the new assessed values and assuming that they take effect this year.
In addition, when the new, higher assessed values take effect next year, the tax rates will drop. I am attaching a printout from my recent presentation which indicates the history of falling tax rates that follow increases in assessed values due to reassessment. I don’t think Elisa has accounted for the falling tax rates in her calculation.
It is very difficult to keep track of all of this, and easy to understand why there might be confusion. In addition, the referendum, if successful, will result in a tax increase this year of about 9%. It’s just that the increases will not be as big as Elise is expecting.
I hope this helps to clarify matters.
Ali ElSaffar
Oak Park Township Assessor