Schools

District 31 Parents Feel 'Abandoned,' Face $1 Million in Cuts After Property Tax Referendum Failed

At the district's first meeting since the referendum failed, parents, board members and administrators considered how to move forward.

Three teachers, one assistant principal, middle school sports and summer school are among the cuts board members, administrators and parents considered at the board’s first meeting following a failed referendum to raise taxes.

Before dozens of district residents who packed the library for the meeting Thursday, Superintendent Alexandra Nicholson presented a list of reductions totaling a little more than $1 million. The district had hoped to raise taxes to offset covering the past four years of taxes from Allstate Insurance, which provides 22 percent of the district’s tax base.

“The timing and amount of their appeals is devastating to our finances,” said Board President David Handler. “Without making significant cuts in expenses, the reserves will be depleted and the district is projected to run out of money within three years.”

Find out what's happening in Northbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

With the lowest property tax rate in Northfield Township and the seventh lowest property tax rate in the state, many parents said they felt “abandoned” by their fellow District 31 residents.

Handler noted that the assessed values in Northfield Township were among the highest in the state, giving the district one of the highest tax bases in the state.

Find out what's happening in Northbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We are sitting on a goldmine, just no one in our community wants to tap it,” he said. 

Given the budget situation they were facing, most parents said they would rather cut sports and other extracurricular activities before losing teachers. Although no teachers are being fired as a result of the potential cuts, the district will not replace three teachers and an assistant principal who are retiring this year.

“I think you should just wipe the slate clean and cut all the sports,” said Des Worthman, a parent with two children at . 

“Education is priority No. 1,” Handler reassured the audience. “This isn’t a country club or a gymnasium to learn basketball.

While most parents were worried about how the district’s cuts would affect their children’s education, others said they were worried about how the district’s finances would affect their property values. Many said they had moved to District 31 specifically for the schools.

“Any person who would even contemplate moving to the district now is insane,” commented one parent. 

“My kids are in college, my home is up for sale and what’s gone on here has already affected potential buyers,” said district resident Terry Cohen. “They go to Wilmette, they go anywhere else.”

Going forward, Nicholson asked parents to fill out a survey the district is distributing, asking which sports and extracurricular activities at Field School they would prefer to be cut. Those include basketball, volleyball, cross-country, track, soccer and softball, as well as student council, yearbook, and several other clubs. Meanwhile, she said the district would be considering its options, including fighting future tax appeals from Allstate, issuing another $3 million in bonds the district got approved in November (a measure that would make residents’ taxes go up), and potentially going before voters for another referendum.

Parent Carolyn Welch, who led a pro-referendum campaign this year, said supporters would “obviously need a different approach” if there were another referendum, especially given that .

“I hope we can all have a dialogue in our community about what’s really important here,” she said, noting that she had moved to the district for the school system just a year and a half ago.

“This is about our children and how we want to educate them,” she added. “Regardless of whether you have kids in our schools or not, hopefully you care about high quality education.” 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here