Vermilion County voters to decide one-percent sales tax increase to benefit schools

The Illinois primary ballot will include a question for voters on the March 17 ballot. It will read: “Shall a retailers’ occupation tax and a service occupation tax (commonly referred to as “Sales Tax”) be imposed in Vermilion County at a rate of one (1) percent to be used exclusively for school facility purposes, school resource officers and mental health professionals?”

The following article explains what that question means for Oakwood School District constituents. The question will pass or fail by a simple majority vote of all residents within Vermilion County.  

Voters in Vermilion County will see a proposition for a one-percent sales tax increase on the March 17 primary ballot.

Residents from the Oakwood School District had the opportunity to hear from their Superintendent Larry Maynard about what the ballot question means for local school districts in Vermilion County on Monday.

Maynard said that it is his understanding that when the one-percent sales tax came up two years ago on the spring ballot, people bucked up against the word “tax,” not understanding what it really meant for the community.

Since 2007, 54 of the 102 counties throughout the State of Illinois have enlisted a one-percent sales tax to fund things like paying off school facility debt to reduce property tax, to build new schools or to renovate facilities and to hire resource officers and mental health professionals in schools.

Funding for the projects comes from a one-percent increase to items that are already subject to sales tax within the state of Illinois. Those that are exempt include groceries, medicine, vehicles, mobile homes, ATV’s/RV’s, seed, fertilizer and farm equipment.

“Anything that doesn’t have a sales tax now, doesn’t get a sales tax in the future,” Maynard said.

It is projected that the Oakwood School District would receive approximately $450,000 each year to help with facilities, student resource officers or mental health professionals.

If passed in March, Vermilion County school districts could see the funds as early as June 2020.

As the Oakwood School District and Board discussed what the sales tax increase meant for the district, the Board of Trustees wanted to help Oakwood residents understand, with full transparency, what the district intends to spend the money on.

Currently, the Oakwood School District has $652,000 in facility debts from bonds issued in 2012-13 when improvements were made to Oakwood Grade, Junior High and High School. The board would like to take half of the sales tax money the district would receive each year and pay down that debt. Currently, property tax is used to pay off the facility debt.

The pamphlet passed out to constituents said, “based on the last levy, eliminating a facility tax levy projects a seven-percent decrease in the tax rate for homeowners, small businesses and farmers.”

That means homeowners with a $65k home would see a $57 decrease on their annual property tax bill, a $100k home would see a $101 decrease, a $150k home would see a $162k decrease and a $200k home would see a $224 decrease in property taxes.

Sales tax money left over from property tax abatement would be used to address renovation at Oakwood High School including: Science STEM Lab(s), a Family Consumer Science Lab, upgrades to athletic facilities, windows, lighting, electrical, and plumbing efficiency, HVAC system controls and parking lot expansion.

Maynard said that ultimately the district has its sights set on improving educational opportunities for Oakwood students. The one-percent sales tax money could also be used to help acquire land, build a 6-12 facility, centralize athletic facilities, build fine arts facilities and a cafetorium for the high school, build a bus garage with a unit office, renovate the high school soccer field with restrooms and bleachers, or build on an early childhood learning center with an auxiliary gym capable of hosting district-wide preschool and daily PE for all students.

Maynard believes that the best part of the one-percent sales tax money is that the decisions for how it is spent are not made by the Governor or by the Speaker of the House, but rather local control takes precedent.

“You and the seven board members have control over how this money is being spent,” Maynard said to the crowd. “It’s a local decision and local control.”

Those in attendance asked questions about if the money could be used to consolidate schools, whether within the district or with another school district. Maynard said that they could, although consolidation talks have not been brought to the table recently.

He added that if there is interest in pulling the 92-square mile school district in closer, that is something that would need to be planned.

Visitors also added that they thought the tax could be a plus for the area with visitors passing through stopping at truck stops along I-74. The Oakwood School District and other taxing bodies will also soon see a tax revenue boost as the Interstate TIF district expires.

Early voting in Vermilion County is open:

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