After reading all of the letters to editor in your last edition re: the District 90 tax referendum, I thought I could offer my opinion on why the numbers add up in support of the referendum.

While there appear to be many folks in River Forest bemoaning the latest threats from the District 90 school board regarding cuts in education programs and teacher/aide personnel to be implemented if the tax referendum doesn’t pass, I have taken the time to look at our past six years’ tax bills to see how much of our tax money has actually gone to District 90. I figured that by analyzing how much of the property tax is paid to District 90, especially in relation to our entire tax bill and also the amount that goes to the high school (District 200), I could obtain a reasonable basis to determine if District 90’s share of the tax revenue has kept up with the growth in the property tax (as well as the growth in the value of our home.)

Probably like many other people in the village, my first reaction to news of the tax referendum was "No more taxes, they’ve increased too much already! Why can’t the school live with all the extra taxes that we’ve paid over the last few years?" But, after looking at the tax numbers, I was surprised to see that while our total property tax bill from 1999 through 2004 increased 25 percent, the portion going to District 90 has increased by only 8.51 percent. That’s an average yearly increase of a measly 1.68 percent for our district schools during a period of time when the total tax increased an average of 4.26 percent per year. It is really no wonder that District 90 feels it has fallen behind because the numbers show that it definitely has.

What struck me the most was how much more of our tax was going to the high school (District 200.) Our 1999 tax bill showed $2,163 going to District 200. By the 2004 tax bill, $3,282 of the tax was paid to District 200—this is a 52-percent increase of $1,119! Over the same period, District 90’s portion of the tax went up much less—from $2,738 to $2,971. This is a total five-year increase of only $233.

I have no doubt that District 90 is entitled to the tax increase it now seeks. Considering how much River Forest property values have gone up, along with necessary and ordinary increased costs of running any school district—utilities, salaries, health costs, new technologies, greater enrollment etc.—I will be more than happy to pay a little more to keep our excellent schools where they are. After all, the value of our home has probably increased much more than $100,000 over the last six years. It hardly seems fair or reasonable that we now "contribute" only $233 more to District 90’s efforts than we did back in 1999.

Michael R. Esposito
River Forest