Thursday October 13, 2016 Vol. 4, No. 32
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Peoria voters to weigh in on school facilities sales tax By BILL KNIGHT
The Nov. 8 ballot will give Peoria County voters an opportunity to decide whether to accept a 1/2-percent increase in sales taxes to be used exclusively for public school facilities. The measure would not increase property taxes and is seen as a first step away from relying on property taxes for funding Illinois schools. Similar to a referendum defeated in March of 2013, this attempt asks for half the percentage of that “penny tax,” which neighboring school districts approving the tax have used to fund new and improved school facilities. For example, districts in Williamsfield, Knoxville, Galesburg and other nearby districts all have used the additional For The Weekly Post
revenues to make facilities safer or more modern, and to improve local infrastructure to help attract new residents and employ people. Also, businesses in those communities and Monmouth have not shown any significant losses due to the extra penny per dollar in Knox and Warren Counties. But creating new Allison taxes can be a hard sell. Three years ago, this referendum lost, 6,730 to 13,235, with voters outside the City of Peoria also defeating the measure, 3,679 to 5,872. In Knoxville, the school of about
Crop harvest progressing, red dog sailing
1,100 students gets about $600,000 a year from Knox’s school facilities sales tax, which helped with its new $31 million school. At Monmouth-Roseville, the additional $575,000 a year was used to replace boilers and roofs and completing an ag/weight room. And in Galesburg, which receives about $2 million each year, some taxes were abated and three major construction developments – an $11 million middle school project, a $9 million elementary school project, and a $15 million multi-purpose facility – were completed with the extra revenues. Chad Allison, superintendent of Illinois Valley Central (IVC) C.U.S.D. 321 in Chillicothe, is explaining the referendum at public meetings Tuesday (Oct.
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District Enrollment Extra revenue Brimfield CUSD 309 667 $429,548 Elmwood CUSD 322 665 $428,260 Princeville CUSD 326 727 $468,188 SOURCE: Illinois State Board of Education
18) at Mossville Junior High School and Oct. 28 at IVC, and responded to key questions posed by The Weekly Post. Allison made it clear that his comments are for information only, since school officials are prohibited from advocating for the measure. 1. Do school boards generally see
A RURAL EXPERIENCE
By BILL KNIGHT
ELMWOOD – Old-timers might recall farmers’ response when the odor of livestock was noticed: “The smell of money.” As the harvest accelerates this fall and the return of the red, fluffy corn-chaff dust from Ag-Land FS piles up on streets and at store Inside fronts here, it’d be un• The Elmwood derstandable to think, School Board has “The sight of money.” named a construcBut the occurrence of tion project manager. the dust – dubbed “red Page 7. dog” – is happening in • Farmington is Elmwood more than considering selling other commercial its city water system. grain elevators at Page 14. Akron Services west of Brimfield and in Glasford, other facilities in Monica and east of Princeville, at Graves Milling in Yates City and even another Ag-Land FS location, in Williamsfield, The Weekly Post found. It’s not because of the volume of corn processed or the equipment, says Elmwood Elevator’s plant manager Justin Burke. “Everything’s working this year,” he says, smiling a bit sheepishly. “It all depends on
Impact of the tax The following are 2015-16 enrollments and projected additional revenues from the School Facilities Sales Tax for local Peoria County schools.
Learning about rural life is part of the appeal of annual second-grade field trips to the Gilles Family farms near Princeville. Local grade-schoolers visited the farm last week, including this group from Brimfield which learned about aquatic life from fisheries biologist Rob Hilsabeck (at right with a bass) and enjoyed handfeeding calves (above). Teacher Hollie Cahill even got to kiss a frog. Photos by Collin Fairfield.
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