Lake County Gazette

Barrington CUSD 220 has seen its enrollment rise by 13 percent over the past 20 years.

But school tax bills for Barrington homeowners have risen even faster -- 46 percent, from $10,670 per student in 1997-1998 to $$15,566 in 2017-2018, adjusted for inflation, according to an analysis by the Lake County Gazette. 

District enrollment rose to 8,706 in 2017-2018 from 7,685 in 1997-1998, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) reports. Total district tax revenue rose from $82 million to $136 million over the same period adjusted for inflation.

The analysis comes as Barrington residents head to the polls on April 2 to vote on a $185 million bond issuance referendum that is part of the district’s long-term Blueprint 220 plan.

The money from the bond issuance would go toward improvements at various District 220 buildings, including $87.5 million in work at Barrington High School, $61.2 million at various district elementary and another $36.5 million at the district’s middle schools.

Higher property taxes for Barrington

If the referendum passes, the burden for paying for the additional bonds will fall almost entirely on already-strained Barrington property taxpayers. The district has said the owner of a home valued at $500,000 can expect to pay $100 more a year in property taxes. 

Property taxes covered 89 percent of District 220's total spending in 2017, according to the ISBE. That's down from 92 percent in 1997.

An August 2018 report found that the median home tax bill in Barrington for the first six months of 2018 was $9,870, or an effective property tax rate of 2.39 percent. That's twice the U.S. national average of 1.19 percent.

The median home price in Barrington for the first six months of 2018 was $412,500, down 15 percent from $486,873 (inflation-adjusted) in March 2009.