Jacksonville schools set budget hearing on proposed tax levy increase

Jacksonville School District 117 opened its budget hearing June 24 at 211 West State Street, after putting a proposed tax levy increase of more than 5 percent in front of the public. The hearing and the regular Jacksonville School District #117 Board of Education meeting were both scheduled for 6 p.m. in the district board room, giving residents a chance to hear the numbers before board members moved on to the 2025-2026 budget.

The levy threshold matters because it affects how much the district can ask property owners to carry while expenses keep rising. Alongside the preliminary budget for 2025-2026, the board agenda included a capital projects levy authorization tied to technology funding, a sign that the district was trying to preserve room for upgrades and school building needs even as it weighed tighter household budgets.

The same agenda showed how many moving parts sit behind a school levy. Board members were set to review county sales tax trends and enrollment trends for the coming school year, both of which can shape staffing and spending decisions in a district that serves multiple buildings in Jacksonville. Illinois State Board of Education enrollment reporting is based on October 1 counts, which makes enrollment a formal planning benchmark rather than a rough estimate.

Families also had meal prices on the table. The board was scheduled to look at lunch and breakfast prices for fiscal year 2027, along with updated student handbooks for each school building. Those are the kinds of line items that can reach directly into home budgets and classroom routines, especially when transportation, food service and basic supplies are already under pressure.

Two staffing items suggested the district was also thinking about program growth. The board was asked to consider adding a head girls wrestling coach and an athletic director for Jacksonville Middle School. If approved, both positions would add costs, but they would also point to continued investment in athletics and middle-school administration.

This was not the first time District 117 had leaned hard on the levy. In 2021, Superintendent Steve Ptacek said the district typically requested the full 5 percent cap allowed on the levy. WLDS later reported that Ptacek planned community meetings to explain a proposed 10 percent tax levy, underscoring how often the district has had to justify its spending plans to taxpayers in Morgan County.