School District 45 will hold its final referendum town hall Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Stevenson Elementary in Lombard before voters decide a property-tax-rate increase on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The session will explain the ballot question, review financial data and give residents a chance to ask questions, according to the Lombard Lilac Ledger. The presentation will be offered in English and Spanish.

The referendum asks whether the district's limiting property-tax rate should increase by 26.7 cents per $100 of equalized assessed value, according to the district's referendum page. If approved, the increase would generate approximately $4.4 million in additional annual revenue.

For a home with an estimated market value of $350,000, the projected tax impact would be about $299 per year, or roughly $25 per month. The actual impact varies by property because tax bills depend on assessed value and other factors, the district said.

What's at stake

A similar referendum in March failed by fewer than 200 votes out of 7,400 cast, Superintendent Brian Graber told the Lombard Village Board, as The Lombardian reported. Community members then petitioned the board to put the question on the ballot again this fall, Graber said.

After that defeat, the district cut about $1.7 million in classroom teacher, reading specialist and advanced academics positions. It also eliminated extracurricular programs including intramural sports, choir, musicals and other clubs, Graber said.

If the referendum fails again, the district would need to cut an additional $2.5 million over the next four years to reach what Graber called "a responsible fund balance by the year 2031." Those reductions would include additional teaching positions, extracurricular programs, one or more school closures and redrawing of school boundaries, he said.

Graber told the village board that four of the district's six elementary schools are in Lombard or unincorporated Lombard. He said the district's annual revenue is about 80% of what the state calculates is needed, or roughly $11 million per year below the adequacy target.

"Ongoing revenue has not kept pace with rapidly increasing expenses," Graber said, citing rising health insurance premiums and transportation costs.

How to prepare

Residents can review the ballot language, tax-impact estimates and frequently asked questions on the district's Strengthen 45 website ahead of the Wednesday session. The referendum will appear on the Tuesday, Nov. 3, ballot.