ROCHELLE — At its monthly meeting Tuesday, the Rochelle Elementary School District Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution in support of county school facilities sales tax referendum appearing 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.

To get onto the ballot, school boards representing more than 50 percent of students must pass support resolutions. The deadline to pass resolutions of support to make the March 19 election is Jan. 2. 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. 

"I just want to be clear that this is only a resolution to put the question on the ballot regarding the one-percent increase in sales tax to be asked of the voters," Board President Trisha Vaughn said. "The board itself is not taking any position for or against it. This is simply to put the measure on the ballot."

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 schools facility sales tax could net the elementary district $813,202 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.

The elementary school district has seen large expenses recently as it deals with aging buildings. Tilton Elementary School was built in 1949. Central Elementary School was built in 1939 and May Elementary School was built in 1959.

It was said at the Rochelle Elementary School District’s November meeting that it could leverage that hypothetical $813,202 a year in new sales tax funds into about $8.8 million in projects.

Levy

The board held a truth in taxation hearing prior to the meeting due to its 2023 proposed tax levy increase being 8.07 percent. Truth in taxation hearings are required when a five percent or more increase is proposed.

District Business Manager Kevin Dale detailed the levy during the hearing, and the board unanimously approved the levy during the regular portion of Tuesday's meeting.

The district was extended $10,032,413 from its levy last year and will be asking for $10,842,399 this year, about $800,000 more. Dale said the increase is due to planned facility improvement expenses and COVID-19 schools relief money drying up. 

The property tax increase from the levy will be about $41 for the owner of a $100,000 home.

Tilton School

The board heard updates on a number of topics relating to its planned renovations at Tilton Elementary School.

The board plans to pursue $14-16 million worth of needed renovations at the school after finding in a health life safety evaluation that an estimated $7.8 million worth of work is required at the school for those issues. Health life safety concerns the physical safety of the building for students and staff to occupy. The district plans to issue bonds for that money in the coming months and wants to utilize an additional $6-8 million from its reserves for other improvements involving security and spatial concerns including its pickup and drop off areas. The work will be done in a three-year plan, which would begin in 2024.

The board unanimously approved a $939,000 bid from QC Geothermal for the geothermal borefield project at the school. That bid was the lowest the district received. The work could start in March and will be away from and cordoned off from students. 

The board also heard a presentation on the district's bond and debt service review from Bob Lewis of PMA Securities relating to the borrowing for the Tilton work. The district has submitted for approval from the state to borrow $7.8 million in health life safety bonds for the work. If approval is received, the bond issuance could take place by late February. Lewis said the current municipal bond market is good for borrowing.

The board will also soon look at bids for pavement work at Tilton School, Dale said.

Attendance

Central Elementary School Principal Justin Adolph presented a yearly update on his school during the meeting. Adolph and Superintendent Jason Harper said issues with attendance have been seen at Central and district-wide in recent years.

"Attendance is a big concern," Adolph said. "We have about 20 percent of our kids, so 4-5 out of every single classroom, that qualify as chronically absent. We're trying to put some things in place going forward to help combat that."

Harper said elevated levels of chronically-absent and truant students have been seen at all grade levels in Rochelle since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This has been a major focus in some of the other buildings in both districts," Harper said. "The state has identified it as an issue. The reestablishing the importance of attending when able and healthy to do so has been a big theme not just in Rochelle, but across the state."