The District 209 Proviso High Schools expect to benefit from another increase in local property tax revenue as the school board got a first look at the draft of the 2026 district budget at its June 10 meeting.
That $3 million dollar boost, though, will be lower than property tax increases seen in recent years as state and county laws link those increases to the rate of inflation. And inflation has cooled over the past two years.
Deborah Watson-Hill, the district’s top finance staffer, presented the update alongside Robert Grossi, a financial advisor working for the district.
While real estate tax revenue increased for the 2026 fiscal year, Grossi said the Consumer Price Index, CPI, links directly to property tax levy limits through the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, PTELL. That’s the state law that limits how much local taxing bodies can increase the total amount of property tax revenue they collect each year.
“Cook County is a tax-cap county, which means your taxes can only grow at the rate of inflation,” Grossi said. “Over the past three years, the levies that the board approved in ‘22, ‘23, and ‘24 have averaged just under 4.5 percent.”
However, that percentage seems to be decreasing. According to Grossi, in December 2024, the levy percentage increase was 3.4 percent and in December 2025 the levy increase is going to be 2.9 percent.
“Right now, year-over-year inflation is 2.3 percent,” he said. “So it is more than likely that your main source of revenue, which is real estate taxes, is going to grow at less than half the rate it has in the past.”
Grossi said there are some other elements of caution for the district in terms of future budgets. He pointed to declines in corporate personal property taxes — a local tax on corporate profits which have dropped across Illinois school district. Recent drops in interest rates have also cut into the money earned by the district on its cash reserves.
However, it is not all bad news for Proviso D209, as Grossi said that for the past eight years, the district has been able to keep its expenditures lower than its revenue.
“Since 2022, excluding major capital activity, the district has a structural surplus of around $25 million a year,” Grossi said. “That is a solid non-capital surplus.”
While Grossi said he is concerned over the general financial landscape of school districts in the state, he said Proviso D209 does not fall within that category.
“Your district is not one of those districts,” he said. “You have done a good job maintaining structural surplus, your fund balances are healthy — not as healthy as other districts because you’ve committed funds to capital — but you’ve put yourself in a good spot.”
In terms of the proposed preliminary 2026 budget, Watson-Hill said the district has a few “drivers” that they are taking into consideration when planning the budget, which she said could see additional changes during the summer months before it is adopted.
Watson-Hill said the district is expecting to see a projected increase of $500,000 in evidence-based funding, which has steadily increased since Fiscal Year 2022 from $17,454,000 to the projected $20,320,000 for 2026.
While federal grants are expected to increase by $1 million for 2026, state grants are anticipated to decrease by $100,000, said Watson-Hill during the board meeting. Additionally other local revenues are expected to increase by $200,000 as well.
Additionally, the district is anticipating the following added expenses: an increase of four and a half percent in total salary expenses, a $6.4 million investment in capital projects, a $500,000 increase in out-of-district tuition. Watson-Hill said the $6.4 million capital investment does include retaining $4.5 million from the prior fiscal year.
The total anticipated revenue for the 2026 fiscal year is $125,820,000 with a budget expenditure estimate of $112,170,000.
D209 will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 12 to discuss and vote on the final budget to be filed with the Illinois State Board of Education.
The next school board meeting will be Tuesday, July 8.