Election Results: Race on Whether or Not to Financially Help District 102 a Tight One

A highly contested La Grange referendum that would approve giving School District 102 an additional $3 million in tax revenue passed — though barely — Tuesday night.

The referendum passed by a slim margin, according to Cook County election results. While 50.58 percent of residents were in favor of the referendum, 49.42 were against it. In a total of 12,647 voters Tuesday, the referendum passed by only 147 'yes' votes.

The school district has been struggling financially for awhile now, but in August the community decided to take its predicament to the people with a ballot referendum.

District 102 houses six schools that educate more than 3,100 children from kindergarten through eighth grade. Due to growth of the student population and state budget cuts, schools have been having trouble making ends meet.

The district is expected to run a $2 million deficit this year, projecting an income of $35 million and expecting to spend $37 million.

District 102 Superintendent Kyle Schumacher said the district has suffered such deficits for the past several years and has slowly been losing more and more money.

If the community approves this referendum, property taxes should increase by roughly $112 per $100,00 in home value.

Although the referendum has passed, the district is still expected to make substantial changes to stabilize itself financially long-term.

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