In his departing comments at the May 1 meeting, District 200 Board President Tom Cofsky whitewashed his and the board’s actions and spun his legacy, omitting relevant information. (1) Here’s what he left out:
As a member of the 2013 Finance Advisory Committee (FAC) tasked with addressing the ballooning $130 million fund balance and as a 12-year member of the board, Cofsky played a pivotal role in shifting the balance of power over capital spending away from the district’s 50,024 registered voters where it rightfully belongs and unethically placing it in the hands of the seven board members. (2)
Cofsky could have pushed the FAC to recommend that all unauthorized tax dollars in the fund balance, more than $110 million, be returned to taxpayers, but he didn’t. Instead, the FAC recommended that $20 million be returned, giving the board control over the rest of the money to spend without voter approval. (3 & 4)
Equally important, the FAC didn’t recommend that the board reset the levy, lowering it to the level it should be without the compounding overtaxation of nearly a decade. And Cofsky made no effort to reset the levy during his years on the board. As a result, the levy remains artificially high, which is why D200 doesn’t need to “tax to the max” and still sees significant levy surpluses/overtaxation, $10 million this year alone. (5)
In short, D200 continues to aggressively overtax residents. Compounding the overtaxation, D200 has been pocketing a $3.8 million Property Tax Relief Grant annually since fiscal 2020, money intended to ease the tax burden on residents. (6)
Voter referendums serve as important checks on the facility wants of a taxing body and influential, special-interest groups. Cofsky voted twice to take away taxpayers’ rights to vote on borrowing for major capital projects. In 2015, voters petitioned the board’s non-referendum bonds on the ballot, prompting the board to withdraw the loophole funding issuance. (7)
Disregarding voter rejection of the 2016 referendum, the board used another loophole in 2023 to fund a different pool project; this loophole blocked voters from petitioning Project 2’s borrowing on the ballot. Debt certificates are intended for a school’s short-term emergency use, not as a loophole to bypass voters to fund a controversial project. (8) In the 2021 SEOPCO D200 candidate forum, Cofsky assured voters that Project 2’s funding would go to referendum. That did not happen. (9)
Stunningly, none of the $170 million spent on major capital improvements during Cofsky’s board tenure was voter approved.
Board service should be applauded except when it morphs into a disservice to the community. Rather than learning from the 2005 board’s unethical action, Cofsky and others used it as a template to seek and exploit other loopholes. Cofsky’s D200 legacy includes trampling on voters’ rights, unaccountability to the community on spending, and long-term, sustained overtaxation.
Monica Sheehan is a 24-year Oak Park resident and former news reporter. She has been following and independently investigating District 200 and the pool story since 2014.
Sources:
(1) 5/1/25 D200 Board Meeting:
(2) Cook County Board of Elections Registered Voters in D200:
(3) 12/19/14 Wednesday Journal news story: “Oak Park’s D200 board approves second-year levy freeze” https://www.oakpark.com/2014/12/19/oak-parks-d200-board-approves-second-year-levy-freeze/
(4) History of the District 200 Fund Balance:
https://www.oprfhs.org/about/business-office/fund-balance-background
(5) 10/24/24 D200 Board Meeting: Proposed Tax Levy: https://go.boarddocs.com/il/oprfhs/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=DA5G6S4252EA
(6) $3.8 million Property Tax Relief Grant, listed as “State Sources – PTGR in EBF” in Five-Year Financial Projections (p.7):
(7) Wednesday Journal 1/20/16 news story: “D200 board votes to withdraw pool bonds” https://www.oakpark.com/2016/01/20/d200-board-votes-to-withdraw-pool-bonds/
(8) Wednesday Journal 4/28/23 news story: “OPRF unanimously decides financing for its Project 2”
(9) 2021 SEOPCO D200 Candidate Forum Tape 1 (46:32):
https://www.facebook.com/100010784557172/videos/495473153559102/?idorvanity=1685772731638787