Lake Central School Corporation: Financial Instability/Future Funding

[knighthood82]

I'll be a no vote on this. The board wasted so much money on that huge LC entrance sign that had to be torn down because it was way too big per town ordinances (which they never bothered to look into I guess - lazy or stupid) and that communication tower they built that also turned out to be illegal but at least the town had pity on them and let them keep it instead of wasting another half million to relocate it. Now these things don't come near to the amounts that they are seeking but you can see the pattern on how irresponsible they are when it comes to handling money - they treat it like someone elses instead of being proper stewards of it and doing due dillegence before spending it.

[svillechris]

Originally Posted by knighthood82

$850 per year

Not doubting you, but do you mind sharing how you got to that number? It's been a while (literally since 2011 leading up to the other referendum) since I did these calculations, so please forgive me if I'm slightly off, but I recall this being the general formula for MOST people living in the district... and this uses the $212k house value, resulting in the ~$180/year:

Value of $212,000
Minus $45,000 (standard deduction)
Minus $3,000 (mortgage deduction)
Minus 35% of the value after the two above deductions are taken (homestead credit)
-----
Equals $106,600
Divided by 100 (b/c it's 17 cents per $100 of assessed value)
Equals $1,066
Then $1,066 *.17 which is the rate
Equals $181 per year... which is what the article says

Using the $500,000 example and the same above calculations, I get to an annual tax amount of $499.46 or $41.62/month.

[knighthood82]

Originally Posted by svillechris

Not doubting you, but do you mind sharing how you got to that number? It's been a while (literally since 2011 leading up to the other referendum) since I did these calculations, so please forgive me if I'm slightly off, but I recall this being the general formula for MOST people living in the district... and this uses the $212k house value, resulting in the ~$180/year:

Value of $212,000
Minus $45,000 (standard deduction)
Minus $3,000 (mortgage deduction)
Minus 35% of the value after the two above deductions are taken (homestead credit)
-----
Equals $106,600
Divided by 100 (b/c it's 17 cents per $100 of assessed value)
Equals $1,066
Then $1,066 *.17 which is the rate
Equals $181 per year... which is what the article says

Using the $500,000 example and the same above calculations, I get to an annual tax amount of $499.46 or $41.62/month.

My figure was not assuming any exemptions. With common exemptions (homestead, mortgage, supplemental standard) the net assessed value of a $500K house would be $292,750, resulting in an impact of $497.68 per year for a LC school district home in St John.

[CGab]

Originally Posted by knighthood82

My figure was not assuming any exemptions. With common exemptions (homestead, mortgage, supplemental standard) the net assessed value of a $500K house would be $292,750, resulting in an impact of $497.68 per year for a LC school district home in St John.

I think most people have exemptions on their property taxes. You do understand that a $500k house will most likely lose value if the schools in the district do not receive enough funds to function properly. It could result in bigger class sizes due to a reduction in staff, not enough funding to pay for good teachers to come to the district and a cut in school programs and services.

These items amongst others would in fact affect property values! If the schools do not perform good, then the area in general will not be good. Look at the South Chicago suburbs! I personally would worry more about that than a few hundred dollars added to your tax bill! I have been through a lot of these referendums when I lived in Plainfield as the area grew so fast between 2000-2007 that they had to keep building new schools. New schools need money for staffing and operations. Be glad LC doesn't want to build another school! I'd much rather pay a few hundred dollars more here than have a tax bill like I had when I lived in Illinois! A tax bill on a $500k home in Illinois would be about $15K!

As I said earlier, I definitely don't want to fork over more money, but if the reasons are valid (and so far I think they are) I will vote YES. Not only because I have children that attend LC schools, but to keep our "Excellent" school rating and status. I want my children to have smaller class sizes and good experienced teachers and programs that will enrich their lives. Part of the reason why I moved to the area was because of the good schools. I want this area to continue to flourish and I want our home values to remain stable and over time increase.

[knighthood82]

Originally Posted by CGab

I think most people have exemptions on their property taxes. You do understand that a $500k house will most likely lose value if the schools in the district do not receive enough funds to function properly. It could result in bigger class sizes due to a reduction in staff, not enough funding to pay for good teachers to come to the district and a cut in school programs and services.

These items amongst others would in fact affect property values! If the schools do not perform good, then the area in general will not be good. Look at the South Chicago suburbs! I personally would worry more about that than a few hundred dollars added to your tax bill! I have been through a lot of these referendums when I lived in Plainfield as the area grew so fast between 2000-2007 that they had to keep building new schools. New schools need money for staffing and operations. Be glad LC doesn't want to build another school! I'd much rather pay a few hundred dollars more here than have a tax bill like I had when I lived in Illinois! A tax bill on a $500k home in Illinois would be about $15K!

As I said earlier, I definitely don't want to fork over more money, but if the reasons are valid (and so far I think they are) I will vote YES. Not only because I have children that attend LC schools, but to keep our "Excellent" school rating and status. I want my children to have smaller class sizes and good experienced teachers and programs that will enrich their lives. Part of the reason why I moved to the area was because of the good schools. I want this area to continue to flourish and I want our home values to remain stable and over time increase.

I am aware of the property value variable but they need to clean up their act before they ask for any more of my money. The only time that Lake Central or St John was mentioned in not just local but national news in the past year was for that teacher doing drugs in the classroom at LCHS. They've been an embarassment to the community lately and until they pass some common sense reforms like employee drug testing, I'll be a no vote. Also, someone there needs to be held accountable for their wasting tax dollars trying to build things that aren't permitted. It's happened twice now and will keep happening until they put some safeguards in place.

[svillechris]

Originally Posted by knighthood82

I am aware of the property value variable but they need to clean up their act before they ask for any more of my money. The only time that Lake Central or St John was mentioned in not just local but national news in the past year was for that teacher doing drugs in the classroom at LCHS. They've been an embarassment to the community lately and until they pass some common sense reforms like employee drug testing, I'll be a no vote. Also, someone there needs to be held accountable for their wasting tax dollars trying to build things that aren't permitted. It's happened twice now and will keep happening until they put some safeguards in place.

For full disclosure, I believe you mentioning previously that your children do or will attend private school, correct? You have no kids in the school district, currently or in the future?

[knighthood82]

Originally Posted by svillechris

For full disclosure, I believe you mentioning previously that your children do or will attend private school, correct? You have no kids in the school district, currently or in the future?

That is correct. I am paying for private schools. I also did vote no for the first building referrendum and yes for the second one that did pass so I am willing to pay more taxes for something if it's appropriate and well thought out.

[svillechris]

Here's the official website supporting this year's referendum: Support Lake Central

It has a lot of good information on it, better than the 2011 version.

[CGab]

Originally Posted by svillechris

Here's the official website supporting this year's referendum: Support Lake Central

It has a lot of good information on it, better than the 2011 version.

Thanks so much for this link! I have already forward it on to many!


I myself will be voting "YES", not only because I have children who attend Lake Central schools; but as I stated earlier, if funding is no there to properly run the schools, our ratings will lower and in turn will affect our property values!

[svillechris]

Congratulations to Lake Central and Crown Point school corporations for both passing their referendums. Voter turnout overall is still abysmal across the board, but still enough to get the jobs done.