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January 2018
theVoice rockfordchamber.com
Doing our part to relieve tax burden Our mission in the Rockford Public Schools is to be the first choice for all families. But something has to happen before we even have a chance to fulfill our mission: People must first choose Rockford as a place to live. In RPS 205, we’re doing our part to relieve the tax burden and still invest in our students with high quality education. I believe that’s what’s right for our community. Our school board, however, has done more than “believe.” It has done more than talk about fiscal responsibility and financial stewardship. For the sixth consecutive year, the board has held the line on tax collections by levying well below the district’s allowable rate. The levy the board approved last month was lower than 2015 and the lowest, in fact, since 2012. The choice to hold the line has not been easy, of course. The aggregate worth of property in RPS 205 — the equalized assessed value or EAV — dropped 33 percent between 2008 and 2016. In that time period, we’ve lost almost $1 billion in property value. It’s
Good financial stewardship; good student outcomes
Strong
schools
are
central
to
a community’s health, but so are
“It turns out that being the first choice for families is in itself a good strategy for driving property values up.” like a teeter-totter: As the value goes down, the rate has to go up. As we were keeping the tax levies flat, we also left tax revenue on the table. We didn’t take money we were entitled to, money tied to factors such as the increase in the Consumer Price Index and credits for new property and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) recovery. We’re still proud of the fact that, in 2011, we returned $13 million to the taxpayers following the end of a five-year commitment to improve the schools. That “Kids Win” campaign had raised the tax rate by 58 cents, and we removed that money from the levy. All the while, we faced the same pressures that other businesses and other governmental entities faced. We had growing labor costs and rising health care costs. We had to be very astute in how we built our budgets
partnerships that work together in relieving the tax burden. It’s integral to one of the goals in our Strategic Plan
because, even as we wanted to keep the levy flat, we knew our costs were not.
— Fiscal and Operational Stewardship.
Holding the Line
to better educational outcomes.
What some of you may not know is that the Rockford Public Schools is midpack — or fourth of nine — in regional school districts when comparing tax rates. In 2016, with a rate of $7.80, we were between Harlem ($8.26) and Pecatonica ($7.44). Even better news is that we’re projecting a tax rate of $7.72 this year. That’s a 21-cent reduction over two years. Other taxing bodies are following suit. Winnebago County, the City of Rockford and the Rockford Park District have had good track records over the last few years in holding the line. We all share the belief that this is the key to driving tax rates down as property values edge up.
Even as the population has declined,
As we’ve been good stewards of your tax dollars, we’ve remain committed We’ve seen achievement improve. we’ve seen enrollment go up. That has brought in more tax dollars. It turns out that being the first choice for families is in itself a good strategy for driving property values up. We will continue to do all we can to make Rockford regionally competitive and, most importantly, to offer our students the best possible return on their potential. Dr. Ehren Jarrett is superintendent of Rockford Public Schools. The views expressed are those of Dr. Jarrett’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.