The File Cabinet

Summit Hill School Board Agenda for Nov. 14

The meeting will include a vote on the approval of the tax levy estimate resolution.

The Summit Hill School District 161 board will meet at 7 p.m. on Nov. 14 at the administration office board room at 20100 South Spruce Drive. The board is scheduled to approve the tax levy estimate resolution. Other business includes discussion of the role of the finance committee, building security and video surveillance cameras and topics for the annual board planning workshop. Two Ways to Stay Connected to Frankfort Patch:

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Anna Schier

11:18 am on Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Hi 518, At this point, I'm not certain if this year's levy will be an increase - the exact numbers haven't been discussed in detail at the last few board meetings. It's possible that the estimate will be close to last year's levy. We'll have more details about this on the site tomorrow. Thanks for reading! Anna   more ›

Summit Hill Board Approves School Improvement Plans

The plans are designed to help the district transition to new statewide curricular standards.

The Summit Hill District 161 Board of Education unanimously approved proposed School Improvement Plans presented by administrators at Wednesday night’s board meeting. The proposals were designed to align with the district’s three-year New Common Core Standards implementation plan. Common Core is a set of statewide curricular standards aimed at preparing students for college and the workforce. It constitutes a single set of expectations for all students. All Illinois school districts must fully transition to Common Core by the 2013-2014 school year. “The superintendent and staff have really worked very hard to lay out an implementation plan,” said board member Sean William Doyle. “Any time you have a dramatic change in the learning …

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D161 Board Unanimously Passes $30M Tax Levy

The 2011 property tax levy is a slight increase from last year's amount, but it's the smallest year-to-year increase in the past four years.

Amid the hiring of Barb Rains as new superintendent during Wednesday's meeting, the Summit Hill School District 161 board also unanimously passed its 2011 tax levy. The levy was set at $30,689,111, a slight increase from last year's levy but the lowest year-to-year increase in the past four years. READ: Board Hires Barb Rains as District's New Superintendent For comparison, here's a look at the tax rates and the amounts levied over the past four years. Amount levied READ: Proposed Tax Levy for D161 Sees Slight Increase The reason for the increase stems from a drop in the property tax base of about $33 million, even though the area has seen a 1 percent net increase in growth this year, said district financial director Dean Gerdes at an …

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Editor's Notebook

'Tis the Season: Two School Districts to Approve Tax Levies This Week

The boards for Frankfort and Summit Hill school districts will set their 2011 levies after holding public hearings. Find out what you need to know before their meetings Monday and Wednesday.

In Illinois, there are two seasons that December is known for: the holiday season and tax levy season. Taxing bodies are required this month to set the 2011 property tax levy--the amount of money the body needs to collect in property taxes in order to operate--that will be reflected on homeowners' property tax bills next spring. READ: Village Board Passes 2.6% Decrease in Tax Levy So far, the Village of Frankfort, the Frankfort Public Library District and Lincoln-Way High School District 210 have passed their levies, and each of these bodies approved decreases. Now, the boards of Frankfort School District 157-C and Summit Hill School District 161 will vote on their levies this week. READ: D210 Board Approves Lower Tax Levy I've summed up …

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UPDATE: Village Board Passes 2.6% Decrease in Tax Levy

Homeowners whose assessed value decreases or stays the same will pay less on the village portion of their property taxes.

The Frankfort Village Board continued its tradition of lowering the property tax levy each year, approving an ordinance at Monday's meeting that decreases the 2011 levy by about 2.6 percent. The 2011 levy, which homeowners will see on their March 2012 property tax bills, is about $3.04 million at an estimated rate of .3391. The 2010 tax levy was about $3.15 million. For residents, this means that if assessed value of their home decreases or stays the same, they will pay less on the village portion of their property taxes, which makes up 5 percent of the overall bill, said Sandy Babka, village finance director, at a public hearing on the levy before the village's board meeting. READ: School Districts Begin Tax Levy Process "Once again this …

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D161 Budget-Tightening Could Include Closing a School

Arbury Hills School or Frankfort Square School could be shut down under a proposal to restructure the district. But that's just one idea officials are considering in order to cut costs.

As a way to cover about a $2 million budget shortfall, Summit Hill School District 161 officials are considering a variety of cost-cutting measures, including entertaining the idea of closing either Arbury Hills School or Frankfort Square School. But interim Superintendent Barb Rains said Thursday no decisions have been made, and any move to eliminate financial and educational inefficiencies in the district are only at the discussion level at this point. More research needs to be done before detailed proposals are created, and January would be the soonest that would happen, she added. The full board also would need to discuss and vote on the matter before any action is taken, Rains said. READ: Proposed Tax Levy for D161 Sees Slight …

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1Mom

9:23 am on Friday, January 13, 2012

Well said.   more ›

Will County Anticipates Budget Vote This Week

The county board shot down a tax increase last week and could now vote on the $170.4 million budget on Nov. 17. The board's version of the budget would reduce taxes about $15.

The Will County Board could pass its annual budget this week, but there's ongoing debate about whether Republican-sponsored cuts will impact services. Members of the public can comment at the next board meeting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Will County Office Building, 302 N. Chicago St. in Joliet. The proposed budget may be viewed between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the office building, or online at the Will County executive's website. In October, the board approved a tax levy that would save the average taxpayer about $15 on the county's portion of their bill. County Executive Larry Walsh proposed a $171 million budget, but the board was looking to cut $2.7 million from that. Democrats on the board have …

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Village Finance Committee Recommends to Lower Tax Levy

Frankfort officials pass along an endorsement to the Village Board to reduce the property tax levy by about $83K.

It's not a binding decision, but village officials said they're intent on not raising the tax levy for 2011. The Frankfort Finance Committee recommended Wednesday to set the 2011 tax levy at $3,043,530, a decrease of $83,660 from the 2010 levy. The levy now goes before the Village Board for approval at its Dec. 5 meeting, and a public hearing will be held before that. READ: Proposed Tax Levy for D161 Sees Slight Increase Even though the equalized assessed value figures for Frankfort Township and Will County continue to drop, the village is able to reduce the tax levy because of it's overall conservative financial management, said Village Administrator Jerry Ducay. That's kept Frankfort low on debt and high on cash in the bank. And although…

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