Five Reasons To Oppose The Winthrop Harbor Referendum

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Citizens for Reasonable And Fair Taxes www.noreferendum.org

1. Voters have rejected the same tax increase twice in less than twelve months!

November 2004 - 3,172 votes April 2005 - 2,256 votes

Yes 49% Yes 43% No 51% No 57%

School boards and school districts exist to serve the wishes of their constituents, NOT to pressure them into a tax increase they’ve already rejected!

Repeatedly running the same referendum is an abuse of election law enabling passage of an unwanted tax increase.

15% NO 28% NO 39% NO 48% NO 56% NO 62% YE$

A referendum with a 15% chance of passing has a 62% chance of passing if run six times!

•McHenry D-15 is running its 6th consecutive referendum in 2006!

•Harvard D-50 is considering its 8th consecutive referendum in 2006!

•Low turnout generally improves chances of passing a referendum.

2. Stealth referendum is unethical

You can’t spell “Stealth” without “Steal” •In February 2003, Carpentersville D-300 ran a “special” referendum, pledged to run again in more than 3-to-1.

April

if it failed. Referendum was defeated by •Harvard pro-referendum group instructed staff not to discuss referendum openly. Called this their “stealth” plan.

•Emergency? A successful October referendum does not provide tax dollars any earlier than an April referendum. (May affect borrowing).

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There is currently no teachers contract!

3. More money won’t help

“I am hoping we can agree to postpone negotiations until after the elections” - Sue Murphy, D-36 “[HTA member Leonor Mersch] said everyone was hopeful the referendum passes, and said salaries and insurance would matter during negotiations.” - NW Herald “As soon as everybody hears about (the projected surplus), they try to divide up where the money's going to go.”

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Rockford School Board President Nancy Kalchbrenner “(Orland D-135 Union president Deneen Pajeau) said the amount of raises during the final three years of the contract will hinge on whether the education fund rate increase referendum proposal is approved.”

More money won’t help

“They understand that the district can afford to make us another offer.”

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Collinsville Teacher Representative Stacey Soehlke “There is no deficit, and they can make us a better offer” - Allison Pyatt, Collinsville Middle School Science Teacher “Now we just have to convince the people in town to look at the numbers the way teachers do.”

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Ed Rosenthal, NUEA chief negotiator “It's about us offering a certain amount and them wanting more, and you just can't give what you don't have” - Sandi Johnson, Harlem School board president Teachers unions base salary negotiations on how much money the district has, not on teacher performance or merit.

More money doesn’t mean better performance

“If money were the only measure of success, we would have tackled our K-12 problems a long time ago with the $500 billion we spend annually at the federal, state and local levels. Education should not be a spending race.” Rod Paige, U.S. Secretary of Education, June 22, 2004

Question: How does District 1 compare to other districts in

QuickTime™ and a

terms of teachers and administrator salaries?

Answer: Who Cares?

4. Winthrop Harbor has been active in the “Education spending race”.

Tax/Revenue

$6,000,000 $5,000,000 $4,000,000 $3,000,000 $2,000,000 $1,000,000 $0 19 90 /9 1 19 91 /9 2 19 92 /9 3 19 93 /9 4 19 94 /9 5 19 95 /9 6 19 96 /9 7 19 97 /9 8 19 98 /9 9 19 99 /0 0 20 00 /0 1 20 01 /0 2 20 02 /0 3 20 03 /0 4 Total Revenue Property Tax

Inflation

$5.00

$4.00

$3.00

$2.00

$1.00

$0.00

19 90 /9 1 19 91 /9 2 19 92 /9 3 19 93 /9 4 19 94 /9 5 19 95 /9 6 19 96 /9 7 19 97 /9 8 19 98 /9 9 19 99 /0 0 20 00 /0 1 20 01 /0 2 20 02 /0 3 20 03 /0 4

Increase Rates

138% 140% 120% 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% AD A 6% 41% 50% 119% Inf la tion AD A/I nf la tion Tota l Re ve nue Pr op er ty T ax es Re ve nue /S tud ent 99%

Another comparison D 1 doesn’t want you to see: Private Schools

Comparative Pay Scales

$70,000.00

$60,000.00

$50,000.00

$40,000.00

$30,000.00

$20,000.00

$10,000.00

Archdiocese of Chicago Winthrop Harbor D1 $0.00

BA/BS Start BA/BS Maximum MA/MS Start MA/MS End Highest *Sources: NACST Lay Teachers Salary Survey D1 Teacher’s Contract •Steps to reach maximum: Archdiocese - 31, D1 - 14.

•Credits Required: Archdiocese - PhD, D1 - MS+36.

•Archdiocese Elementary Tuition: $800 - $5,680

5. The referendum will cost much more than they’re telling you.

Introducing “Huntleygate”

•Spring 2004 55¢ referendum defeated.

•Watchdog group ridiculed for warning that referendum allows $1.22 tax increase.

•District runs again in Fall. Passes by <1%.

•Tax collectors confirm $1.22 figure. Public furious •Finance manager admits he knew true cost, but chose not to inform public.

•Public demands for responsibility result in resignation of Superintendent and finance manager.

How did it happen?

Property Assessment 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 1 2 6 3 4

X

5 100 90 80 10 0 30 20 50 40 70 60 1 2 3 4 Tax Rate 5 6 7 7

=

Property Taxes Collected 160 140 120 100 20 0 80 60 40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 •

Tax rate falls because property assessments rise faster than CPI.

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District collects more money, not less!

How PTELL Affects D-1

Proposition to Increase Maximum Annual Educational Tax Rate

Shall the maximum annual tax rate for educational purposes for Winthrop Harbor School District Number 1, Lake County, Illinois, be increased and established at 2.56 percent upon all the taxable property of said School District at the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, instead of 2.17 percent, the present maximum rate otherwise applicable to the next taxes to be extended for said purposes?

Establishes the

Maximum

Educational Tax Rate,

NOT

the actual rate itself.

Maximum Ed-Fund Tax Rate: $2.17

Current Ed-Fund Tax Rate: $1.736

Proposed Maximum Tax Rate: $2.56

Increase from Current to new Maximum: 

$0.824!

Think it can’t happen here?

Daily Herald surveyed 25 districts shortly after Huntleygate. Among the overtaxers:

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Burlington CUSD-301

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Naperville District 203

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Glen Ellyn District 41

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Geneva District 204

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Prairie Grove District 46

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Wheeling Elementary District 21

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Libertyville-Vernon Hills High School District 128

They’ll assure you its only 39 cents

Voters in these districts also received assurances from their school and government officials!

The 82.4¢ figure, as well as a $782.80 example increase for a $300,000 home came directly from the Lake County Clerk’s Office.

“It has allowed for a misuse of the tax cap law. Certain taxing districts reaped a harvest of additional dollars in excess of what the voters approved.”

-Wayne Wasylko, Lake County Director of Tax Extension State Representative Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) introduced bill to force districts to tax according to how tax increases are sold to public.

“ I do think it ’ s important that people know, taxpayers know, exactly what they ’ re asked to approve. I ’ m pleased that this will be clarified.

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- Willard Helander, Lake County Clerk