ROCHELLE — At its monthly meeting Dec. 18, the Rochelle Township High School District Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution in support of placing a county facilities sales tax on the March 19 election ballot.
A law passed in 2007 to allow for a county-wide sales tax in Illinois to benefit schools for expenses including facilities, security, mental health services and school resource officers. The sales tax must pass in a county by referendum during an election. That has not taken place in Ogle County, and the measure failed on the ballot locally back in 2013. There are 57 counties in Illinois that have the county schools facilities sales tax.
Shared Rochelle School Districts Superintendent Jason Harper said that there has been enough support from school boards county wide for the referendum to be placed on the ballot. To get onto the ballot, school boards representing more than 50 percent of students must pass support resolutions. The referendum would have to pass on the ballot county-wide. The sales tax can be a maximum of one percent in quarter-percent increments. The Rochelle Elementary School District Board of Education passed a resolution to support the item being placed on the ballot at its Dec. 12 meeting.
The additional sales tax would apply to items that are already taxed, with the exception of vehicles and unprepared food. Based on the most recent numbers, a county facility sales tax could net RTHS $443,491 per year. Along with facilities, security, mental health services and school resource officers, the money can be used to abate property taxes and make rates lower for property owners within the district.
Board members stressed Dec. 18 that the resolution was only to give the choice to voters, and not in support of the tax itself.
"What we'd like to do is just offer the referendum to the taxpayers to make a decision," Board President Tom Huddleston said. "If it should pass, as far as our district is concerned, we can then consider abating all that money towards real estate taxes if the board wishes or make any other decision. Any other district can do that as well. Tonight's proposal is just to put it on the referendum."
Harper said there hasn't been unanimous approval among county school districts, but there was enough support to get it on the ballot as of Dec. 18.
"It's support for our community voters so they can go to the ballot box and vote on whether or not they want to continue with what we've been doing historically in terms of property taxes funding the local portion of schools, or offset that to some degree by a sales tax initiative,” Harper said.
