St. Charles School District 303 approves $200M tax levy

St. Charles taxpayers may see a slight decrease in the school district’s portion of their property tax rates in 2025.

St. Charles School District 303 Board members approved a 2024 property tax levy of just under $200 million in a split vote at their Dec. 9 meeting without discussion.

The levy was approved in a 6-1 vote, with board member Edward McNally casting the sole no vote.

The total levy amount, including debt services, is $199,526,549, a 5.21% increase over last year’s extension.

The district is projecting a resulting tax rate of 4.808% ($48 per $1000 of EAV) in 2024, once EAV recovery and new growth are factored in. This would be a slight decrease from the 5.212% ($52 per $1000 of EAV) tax rate in 2023, however final EAV numbers won’t be available until the spring.

D303 Chief Operating Officer Justin Attaway gave a presentation on the district’s 2025 budget and the 2024 tax levy extension at the December meeting.

Attaway reported that about 80% of the district’s expenses are for personnel, and the rest are largely comprised of essential services like facility maintenance, transportation, food services, IT, special education and curriculum.

The district has a total cash reserve balance of $138,008,345.

The levy resolution includes a breakdown of amounts levied by expense. The district will levy $138,850,000 for educational purposes, $21,960,000 for operations and maintenance, $5.8 million for transportation, $20.8 million for special education, and $8.8 million total for social security, retirement and tort immunity.

The school board held a public hearing on the levy at their Dec. 9 meeting. There was no public comment or discussion by board members during the hearing.

With the levy’s adoption approved, the district will file the it with the county clerk by Dec. 31.

The Property Tax Extension Limitation Law or “tax cap,” limits property tax increases to less than 5%. If the district submits a tax levy greater than 5%, the county will reduce it to the allowable level prior to extending the taxes to the community.