The Kankakee School District is slated to request about $24.5 million for its 2025 tax levy, an increase of about 4.7%, or $1.1 million over the prior year’s tax extension.

The Kankakee School Board heard a presentation on the tentative 2025 tax levy earlier this month.

Harrison Neal, assistant superintendent of business services, said the board will be asked to approve the final levy in December so the request can be filed with the Kankakee County Clerk’s Office.

The deadline to submit the levy is the last Tuesday in December.

Property taxes make up about 30% of the district’s budget, he said.

“The levy is the amount of money the school district is going to request,” Neal said. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to get it [all]. We’re going to request it.”

Neal noted that districts typically request more than they expect to receive so they can capture any additional tax revenue available from new property.

“We generally try to request a little bit high,” he said. “Not so high it freaks everyone out, but a little bit high so we don’t lose out on any money.”

When the final numbers for equalized assessed value and new property are determined, the county will calculate the extension the district will receive.

“If we’ve guessed properly and a little cushion [is] in there, we should get the amount we’re supposed to get in property taxes,” Neal said.

The increase should come out to about the increase in the consumer price index over the past year.

In Kankakee County, taxing bodies are subject to Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, or PTELL, meaning the increase is capped at 5% or the change in CPI, whichever is less.

“There’s only been a couple years since its inception that CPI has been above 5%,” Neal said. “Generally speaking, it’s less.”

CPI is calculated each year from January to January.

From 2024 to 2025, the change was an increase of 2.9%. That rate will determine the levy for fiscal 2025.

The 2025 property taxes will be paid on the 2026 tax bill.

For the school district’s portion of the tax bill, homeowners will see an estimated increase of $82 for a $150,000 home, $110 for a $200,000 home, $137 for a $250,000 home or $167 for a $300,000 home.

Neal noted that the district’s transportation and maintenance costs have gone up, so the levy request was increased in those areas.

The education fund request was decreased, but the district plans to use more of its evidence-based funding from the state to make up the difference, he said.

The district received about $13.3 million for the education fund, $2.7 million for operations and maintenance and $2 million for transportation in the fiscal 2024 levy.

For fiscal 2025, the district will request $10.9 million for the education fund and $3.5 million each for the operations and maintenance and transportation funds.

The total requested levy comes out to $24,477,547, an increase of $1,104,119, or 4.7% over the actual fiscal year 2024 extension of $23,373,428.

“We want to make sure we grab all the funds that are available to us,” Neal said.