ETHS has been a centerpiece of the Evanston community for a hundred years, providing students and the public with opportunities other high schools can’t even dream of. But does this grant the administration the ability to raise taxes? The school’s administrative team is requesting $15 million in bonds which would result in a tax increase for all Evanston residents. This money would be used for structural purposes, paying for air conditioning in the gym wing and roofing repairs. However, once the taxes are raised, it is unlikely that they could be lowered again. This means that Evanston residents already living in one of the highest tax brackets on the Northshore would see an increase in their property taxes, forcing them to pay for the school’s expenditures.
While the school does need the money for these building repairs, there are a limited number of ways they can obtain it. Bonds are a form of state-provided funding that come from the school district’s property taxes. They have to be spent within three years of being issued and are approved by both the Illinois State Board of Education and the ETHS school board.
Another possibility in gaining resources for the school would be a referendum, a one-time payment with money coming from a tax levy, only affecting Evanston taxes for a short period. Marcus Campell, ETHS’ superintendent, reasoned against a referendum, stating that “[The] school has done two referendums, I think in its history, and that’s when the school got built, and when we built the four points. [That’s] usually when you do a referendum, for a massive amount of money, 60, 70, 80 million.”
The option to ask for bonds is also a new tool presented to schools in Illinois when referendums were formerly the only option available for more funding.
Kendra Williams, ETHS Chief Financial Officer, spoke towards this point, saying, “The reason why we would be utilizing the tool that’s being proposed is because it’s something that was made available to school districts in the state last year. So before, schools used to go for a referendum because that’s the only tool that they had available to them if they could not issue more debt without going over their debt service extension base.”
The debt service extension base (DSEB) is a government-set amount that limits the amount of interest districts can ask for in bonds and loans each year. Since referendums were used for such large amounts, they often surpassed the DSEB, resulting in state intervention and, in extreme cases, legal consequences.
A last resort alternative for the school is budget cuts, though it is a long and complicated process that could harm students’ education. Marcus Campbell, ETHS Superintendent, is not a fan of this option.
“It’s not a small amount of money [we need], and you don’t want to be putting so much money into roofs and windows when you have to provide education for students,” said Campbell. “If we could have afforded to do it by now, it would have been done.”
The cost of the electrical portion of the maintenance alone would cost almost seven to eight million. Parts of the building that need repair are one hundred years old and are not just concerned with the gym wing or HVAC system. The roof, windows and other mechanical needs have been made more prevalent with the building’s age.
“I think that ETHS has a lot they could improve on in terms of the structural integrity of the building. I’ve seen classes have to evacuate their room because a pipe burst and the ceiling started dripping. Even in the field house, there are buckets for the liquid leaking from the ceiling,” said Anna Stolar, a junior at ETHS.
Overall, the school is focusing on maintaining the student experience but also looking for ways to improve it in the future. Campbell is looking to the future, hoping that the money will be received and used to renovate the historic building.
“This bond, if the board approves it and the community supports it, is to get air conditioning in the gym wing, which we can’t afford to do.”
