Lake County Gazette

Lake Zurich School District 95 has lost 800 students over the past decade. But district officials and the District 95 school board are still asking local property taxpayers for more money to expand. 

To build a new school and install air conditioning, they want Lake Zurich voters to vote March 20 to give them $78 million, or about as much as district receives in a year from its current property tax levy.

An analysis of Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) data by the Lake County Gazette found that District 95 has increased property taxes by 24 percent over the past decade, as its enrollment has fallen 14 percent.

Total per-pupil spending by Lake Zurich District 95, which includes seven elementary and middle schools and one high school, rose 39 percent between 2007 and 2016, from $12,170 to $17,619.

Academic achievement has been flat.

ISBE reports that 51 percent of district students taking the state's standardized exam in 2017-- called PARCC-- were deemed "ready for the next level." That's down from 54 percent in 2015.

At Lake Zurich H.S., 53 percent of high school seniors were deemed "college ready" by the American College Test (ACT).

The district had $38 million in debt as of 2015, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis.

Lake Zurich property taxes: five times the national average

The referendum comes at a time when Lake County-- and especially Lake Zurich-- property taxes are atop voters' minds.

The effective property tax rate in Lake Zurich is 4.4 percent, according to a Lake County Gazette report that tracked tax bills and 2017 sale prices. That's five times the national average (0.9 percent), twice the Illinois average (2.2 percent) and among the highest in Lake County.

Of major municipalities, only North Chicago (8.3 percent), Zion (5.2 percent), Grayslake (4.8 percent) were higher.

The median sale price of a Lake Zurich home was $315,000 in 2017; the median property tax bill was $13,486.

Lake Zurich home prices are still 22 percent lower than they were in 2007, according to Lake County sales data.

The median home price then, inflation-adjusted, was $407,100.

$42.3 millon elementary school?

Tax hike supporters want to demolish May Whitney Elementary School, 100 Church Street in Lake Zurich, and build a new, $42.3 million school.

May Whitney was built in 1929, then expanded and renovated in 1952 and again in 1990.

The school isn't at capacity; it had 543 students last year, but held as many as 616 in 1996, according to district records.

Getting smaller, Lake Zurich Public Schools still spending more

Lake Zurich CUSD 95 wants to borrow $78 million-- the equivalent of a year's worth of property tax revenue-- to expand school buildings. But according to the Illinois State Board of Education, district enrollment has fallen more than 14 percent over the past decade. Local tax revenue has risen 24 percent over the same time period.

Year	Enrollment	% CHG
2016	5,186	-1.2%
2015	5,248	-2.7%
2014	5,392	-1.4%
2013	5,468	-1.2%
2012	5,537	-4.2%
2011	5,777	-1.8%
2010	5,882	-0.8%
2009	5,928	-1.3%
2008	6,007	0.4%
2007	5,986
	TOTAL	-14.2%

YEAR	Local Tax Revenue	% CHG
2016	$82,471,837	1.6%
2015	$81,145,722	1.5%
2014	$79,944,124	2.4%
2013	$78,064,040	0.8%
2012	$77,482,218	3.4%
2011	$74,951,817	1.9%
2010	$73,539,717	3.4%
2009	$71,145,046	4.4%
2008	$68,149,632	4.2%
2007	$65,378,166
	TOTAL	23.6%

	Total Spending	Enrollment	Spend Per Pupil	% CHG
2016	$91,373,081	5,186	$17,619	7.7%
2015	$85,821,045	5,248	$16,353	3.2%
2014	$85,434,531	5,392	$15,845	10.1%
2013	$78,707,743	5,468	$14,394	-5.0%
2012	$83,900,638	5,537	$15,153	5.3%
2011	$83,108,506	5,777	$14,386	6.9%
2010	$79,181,498	5,882	$13,462	-0.8%
2009	$80,413,153	5,928	$13,565	5.5%
2008	$77,245,944	6,007	$12,859	5.7%
2007	$72,846,785	5,986	$12,170
	TOTAL			38.6%