If approved, the referendum allows the District to issue bonds to construct a new Junior High School to address overcrowding, aging infrastructure, and future enrollment needs.

Overcrowding at the Junior High is the most pressing need of the District. Current enrollment is 200 more students than the designed capacity. The aging systems need regular repairs and significant upgrades.

2,245 residents responded to a community survey this summer. More than 80% supported building a new Junior High.
 

The existing Junior High would continue to serve the District in a new capacity. The building could provide needed space for administrative and technology staff, along with other District needs such as professional development, storage and gymnasium space, and more. The District will continue evaluating the best use of the building as part of its long-term facilities plan.

• The District will soon pay off the existing  bonds
• Countywide sales tax revenue is up
• Commercial and residential property growth
  
  These three factors combined provide the opportunity to build a new Junior High without an increase to the District tax rate.
  
  *Your bill also depends on your property’s assessed value, which is determined by the county assessor.

Illinois state law generally requires voter approval before a school district can build a new instructional building, regardless of whether the tax rate increases.

A bond is similar to a home mortgage. It allows the District to borrow money now to pay for major building projects and repay it over time with interest.

When a bond retires, the repayment schedule has ended and the debt has been paid in full.

An existing District bond (issued for the Fieldhouse) will be fully paid off in 2028. Taxpayers currently pay a bond and interest tax rate of approximately $0.6033 per $100 of EAV toward this debt.

The referendum allows the District to replace the retiring debt with new bonds for the Junior High School, keeping the rate the same.

Champaign County collects a 1% sales tax dedicated specifically to school facility improvements. Revenue is distributed to local public school districts based on student enrollment.

Under Illinois law, these funds cannot be used for salaries or day-to-day operating expenses. They may only be used for facility-related purposes, including:

• Building repairs, renovations, and safety improvements
• Capital construction projects
• Paying down school construction debt to reduce property tax needs

Each year, the District adopts a property tax levy and submits it to Champaign and Piatt Counties. The counties calculate tax rates based on the levy and the total Equalized Assessed Value (EAV) of taxable property within the District.

Property taxes generated by the $0.60 debt service rate will cover a portion of the annual bond payment. The remaining balance will be paid using revenue from the 1% County-wide School Sales Tax. Combining these two funding streams allows the District to complete the project without raising property tax rates.

The Board of Education and the community have identified MSJH as a priority because of overcrowding and aging systems.  If the referendum would fail, it would be highly likely that the BOE would be compelled to renovate and add to the existing MSJH building.  Preliminary discussions with BLDD estimate that a renovation and addition would cost about the same as new construction of MSJH on South Mahomet Road. It is unlikely the District tax rate would decrease because the need to address overcrowding at MSJH does not go away even if the referendum does not pass. 

While the referendum itself is designed to keep the District's bond and interest tax rate flat ($0.00 net increase), individual tax bills may still fluctuate over time due to changes in property assessed values or tax rate shifts from other local taxing bodies.

• Strict Usage Rules: By law, referendum-approved bond proceeds must be placed into a dedicated capital project fund and cannot be spent on staff salaries or general operational costs.
• Public Review: Project expenditures are reviewed during public Board of Education meetings.
• Audits: The District is subject to mandatory annual independent financial audits.

September 24
Early voting & vote by mail begin

November 3
Election day