BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — On April 1, thousands of Illinoisans will cast their ballots for mayor, city council members and referendums impacting their community.
McLean County residents gathered at a forum hosted by the Bloomington NAACP to hear from candidates and about a referendum impacting local schools.
On this year’s ballot, McLean County voters will make a choice that could offset their property tax bill.
“It’s one cent on every dollar for qualifying items that are not taxed, things like groceries, essential items like medicines, prescriptions, things of that sort,” said David Mouser, Superintendent of District 87.
The county school facilities sales tax is a one-percent tax on prepared foods and entertainment that will go to fund important school upgrades.
The money can be used for facility upgrades, school safety and mental health support.
Currently, schools depend on property taxes and loans to fund those projects.
Unit 5 Superintendent Dr. Kristen Weikle said the extra revenue stream will make a big impact.
“For unit five, it would mean about $16 million a year, which is significant. We have roofs. Like I said, we have boilers where ones are not functioning at all in a large building and are barely hanging on. And we can’t just fix it because they don’t make replacement parts anymore. We have fire alarm panels in several buildings that are aging out where we’re in the same situation like we can’t even find and get our hands on replacement parts because they’re not making it anymore,” she said.
District 87 superintendent David Mouser agreed saying other communities are already doing it with positive results
“This is a potential game-changer for schools. And I would say when you look at schools already in Peoria, champagne, Decatur, Lincoln, and Springfield, they all have this tax in their counties. And you can see what kind of facility upgrades have been done in those communities not just in municipal areas, but also all the surrounding schools in those counties. They’ve all benefited from it,” he said.
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