• Editor’s Note: This article shares information from the Frequently Asked Questions about the 2015 (payable 2016) Kane County Property Tax Bills document published online through the coordinated efforts of Kane County Supervisor of Assessments Mark Armstrong, Kane County Clerk John A. Cunningham and Kane County Treasurer David Rickert.

The majority of your property tax bill typically goes to your local school district.

In fact, on average, 68.5 percent of the 2015 property taxes payable in 2016 will go to public schools. That’s one reason the offices of the Kane County supervisor of assessments, Kane County clerk and Kane County treasurer include in their annual tax FAQ report a list of which school districts’ levies went up, which went down and which were flat.

There can be a surprising amount of variation from year to year.

East Aurora School District 131 is one example. Last year at this time, stats showed District 131 with highest year-over-year percentage increase in the amount of money it collected from taxpayers — a hike of 7.56 percent. This year’s FAQ shows that District 131’s levy had the most precipitous drop of any school district in Kane County — down 6.3 percent.

If you’d like to compare notes from this year’s report to last, check out this article on KaneCountyConnects.com.

This year, the school district levy with the highest percentage increase year over year was Central School District 101, whose extended levy went from $43,729,223 to $45,280,749 — an increase of 5.0 percent, according to the FAQ chart.

Kane County School District Levies

Here’s the order of percent change, from biggest increase to biggest decrease year over year:

1. Central School District 301 — 5.0%
2. Yorkville School District 115 — 3.4%
3. Dundee-Crown School District 300 — 2.6%
4. Huntley School District 158 — 2.6%
5. Sycamore School District 427 — 2.2%
6. St. Charles School District 303 — 1.9%
7. Hinckley School District 429 — 1.6%
8. Kaneland School District 302 — 1.6%
9. West Aurora School District 129 — 1.5%
10. Barrington School District 220 — 1.2%
11. Geneva School District 304 — 1.1%
12. Batavia School District 101 — .08%
    
13. Oswego School District 308 — (-1.9%)
14. Elgin School District U-46 (-3.0%)
15. East Aurora School District 131 (-6.3%)

Q: Did my school district hold its property tax levy flat as compared to last year?

A: The answer varies by district; please see the following data:

SOURCE: Kane County Clerk’s Office

An extremely important side note is that a portion of each district marked with an asterisk (*) is located outside of Kane County. The total levy may be based on estimated equalized assessed values in other counties and subject to revision upon establishment of Department of Revenue Equalization Factor. The full 2015 Tax Extension Detail Report for each taxing district can be viewed here.

For information about how these tax levies were determined, please contact the school district that developed the levy ordinance (see phone number listed below):

School District / Telephone

• Barrington School District 220 — (847) 381-6300
• Batavia School District 101 — (630) 406-8257
• Central School District 301 — (847) 464-6005
• Dundee-Crown School District 300 — (847) 551-8300
• East Aurora School District 131 — (630) 299-5550
• Elgin School District U46 — (847) 888-5000
• Geneva School District 304 — 630) 463-3000
• Hinckley School District 429 — (815) 286-7578
• Huntley School District 158 — (847) 659-6158
• Kaneland School District 302 — (630) 365-5100
• Oswego School District 308 — (630) 636-3080
• St Charles School District 303 — (630) 513-3030
• Sycamore School District 427 — (815) 899-8100
• West Aurora School District 129 — (630) 844-4400
• Yorkville School District 115 — (630) 553-4382

SOURCE: Frequently Asked Questions about the 2015 (payable 2016) Kane County Property Tax Bills