At its Dec. 4 public hearing, the District 200 school board is expected to approve the administration’s proposed 2025 levy, which includes recapturing (or clawing back) $2.1 million in taxes from 2023 and 2024, resulting in a projected $14.2 million surplus for fiscal 2026-2027, which includes expected geothermal rebates. A recent state law allows schools to claw back taxes in the prior three years if they didn’t tax to the max. (1 & 2)
The administration points to a spike in special education costs and a desire to maintain the cash reserve at 33% of annual operating expenses as justifications for recapturing taxes, but that’s just smoke and mirrors. Unexpected program increases should be covered by the cash reserve, and board policy only requires 25% of annual operating expenses be held in reserve, a percentage that gives D200 the highest credit rating. (3)
According to the administration, a higher cash reserve level is desired as the county has been late recently with property tax distributions, but the delays were unusual and due to complications arising from a new computer system, according to Oak Park Township Assessor Ali ElSaffar. (4) D200 should stop stockpiling taxpayer dollars when it can issue short-term tax anticipation warrants if distributions are ever delayed. (5)
The underlying reason for the claw back is Project 2’s controversial funding plan. It requires that $3.2 million from the annual operating budget be spent repaying debt certificates for the next 19 years. Counter to best practices and the advice of the board’s Community Finance Committee, Superintendent Greg Johnson proposed the debt-certificate-loophole funding plan, and then-President Tom Cofsky’s 2023 board (Fred Arkin, Gina Harris, Kebreab Henry, Ralph Martire, Mary Anne Mohanraj, and Sara Dixon Spivy) approved it to bypass a voter referendum for the $135 million PE addition and pool (construction, borrowing and geothermal costs), apparently fearing defeat at the polls. Adding to D200’s current fiscal issues, the funding plan also drained $44.2 million from the cash reserve and included $12.5 million in unreceived donations from the Imagine Foundation. (6)
According to Project 2’s funding plan, the Imagine Foundation is behind on its philanthropic donations. It promised $5,750,000 by 2024-2025 but has donated only $4 million. Another $2,750,000 is promised by 2025-2026. (7 & 8)
In June, the foundation oddly claimed that a state grant of $3.5 million (taxpayer dollars) should be counted as part of its promised philanthropic donations. (9)
D200’s tax recapture promotion lacks further transparency with no mention that the 2023 and 2024 levies resulted in significant surpluses, or overtaxation, of $9.1 million and $6.3 million, respectively. (10 & 11) These surpluses highlight that the high school’s levy is inflated, due to years of extreme overtaxation following a tax loophole enacted by the 2005 board, with subsequent boards failing to reset (lower) the levy. (12)
Sources:
1) $14.2 million surplus projected for 2025 levy (2026-2027 fiscal year)
https://oprfhsorg.community.highbond.com/document/710e98d2-e693-4ec0-abf0-fc0cf4709a8a
2) 11/11/25 Wednesday Journal news story “OPRF set to approve ‘recapture’ of $2.1 million in past taxes”: https://www.oakpark.com/2025/11/11/oprf-school-board-tax-levy-2025
3) OPRF AAA credit rating: https://www.oprfhs.org/about/business-office
4) 11/11/25 Oak Park assessor’s letter on late property tax bills: https://www.oakpark.com/2025/11/11/second-tax-bills-ready-to-go/
5) Tax anticipation warrants: https://www.iml.org/cms/files/pages/Financing-Options-Using-Bonds.pdf
6) 4/28/23 Wednesday Journal story “OPRF unanimously decides financing for its Project 2”: https://www.oakpark.com/2023/04/28/oprf-unanimously-decides-financing-for-its-project-2
7) Five‐Year Financial Projection Updated 3/15/2023 ‐ Project 2 Funding Scenario 4, later renamed Option 2 (see p. 2 for Imagine Foundation donation schedule): https://oprfhsorg.community.highbond.com/document/ada01afa-0cad-4112-885c-e0ba9008893d
8) Imagine Foundation donations as of Nov. 20, 2025: https://oprfhsorg.community.highbond.com/document/21251a3a-bfe9-4727-bfec-8ad1325adbec
9) Imagine Foundation claims $3.5 million state grant as part of its promised philanthropic donations to OPRF: https://www.oakpark.com/2025/06/10/oprf-receives-3-5-million-state-grant-for-project-2-improvements
6/24/25 Oak Leaves news story: “[Executive Director Heidi] Ruehle said that since the Imagine Foundation did much of the work of securing the $3.5 million state grant it will count the $3.5 million in state money towards what the foundation has committed to raise.” https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/06/24/oprf-hvac-system-grant/?share=iygmewi6chfwte2a2tge
10) $9.1 million surplus resulted from 2023 levy (2024-2025 fiscal year): https://oprfhsorg.community.highbond.com/document/fd179548-6c1f-499f-ac4a-c369f8c3bcee/
11) $6.3 million surplus resulted from 2024 levy (2025-2026 fiscal year): https://oprfhsorg.community.highbond.com/document/b810cae2-5159-473d-a541-9e6378b15e40
12) OPRF fund balance and 2005 tax loophole history: https://www.oprfhs.org/about/business-office/fund-balance-background
Monica Sheehan is a 25-year Oak Park resident and former news reporter. She has been following and independently investigating OPRF and the pool story since 2014.