About 40 people turned out Thursday night for a rally intended to generate support for a tax levy increase for Joliet Public Schools District 86.
School board President Jeff Pritz said district officials have discussed whether to place the proposed referendum issue on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Though the district has yet to determine the exact rate of an increase, Pritz said that a citizens group is working with the school board to gather public support.
“Our children are the future,” said Anna White, co-chairwoman of the citizens group. “We have got to prepare them for the next century.”
The district will face a $2.5 million budget deficit in June, Pritz said, which it is currently reducing through tax anticipation warrants. The warrants essentially are a means by which taxing bodies borrow against future tax revenue.
“What we’re doing is raising our children’s debt. We have debt extending out to the year 2012,” Pritz said.
Voters last approved a tax referendum issue in 1968, Pritz said.
Since then, he said, the district has faced a lack of funding from Springfield, deteriorating buildings and a growing student population. The district added 200 students this year.
