Dixon Public Schools District 170 expects its 2025 property tax rate to decrease slightly from 2024 due to projected increases in assessment values.

The school board on Wednesday scheduled a Dec. 17 public hearing for its 2025 property tax levy.

District 170 business manager Marc Campbell went over the district’s proposed levy request of $28,003,784 and estimated a tax rate of about $4.87 per $100 of equalized assessed value.

The proposed 2025 levy is about 8.8% more than its 2024 levy of $25,738,496, but its estimated tax rate is slightly decreased from the 2024 rate of about $4.92.

The 2025 rate is an estimation based on an estimated $575,593,288 of EAV for all taxable properties in the district. The revenue will be used to operate in the 2026-27 school year, and over half will be spent on education, according to district records.

The district makes up about half of property owners’ total tax bill; other taxing bodies such as cities, townships and counties take up a smaller percentage, Dixon Finance Director Becky Leslie told Shaw Local.

The district estimated its total 2025 EAV to be on the high side. It expects to receive the final numbers from Lee and Ogle counties in the first week of December. Those numbers will affect what the district’s actual 2025 tax rate is, Campbell said.

In the past three years, property assessments have been increasing at a high rate. Ogle County estimates a 4.2% increase. Lee County has not published estimates, Campbell said.

In 2024, the district’s total EAV was $523,266,625, according to district records.

“We are simply applying a rate to those values” from the county, Campbell said. “Our tax rate, year over year, stays right around that $4.90.”

The hearing is scheduled for the board’s next meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 17. Meetings are held at 1335 Franklin Grove Road in Dixon and are typically available to watch the following day on the district’s YouTube channel.