Eastland Board of Education Will Protest Re-Assessments

The Eastland Board of Education held a special meeting on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at the Eastland Elementary School in Lanark to consider whether to protest property re-assessments published on December 28, 2011.

Superintendent Hansen made a brief presentation on the status of the property re-assessments published December 28, 2011 in The Prairie Advocate News (available-here), including methodologies, possible rationale for protesting, and impact on the District.

In a nutshell, the decline in assessed valuation was more than three times greater than projected the year before, four times greater than EAV declines in similar districts throughout the region, and would have a significant negative impact on District programs.

School Attorney Tim Zollinger then made a presentation on laws pertaining to property assessment, equalization in non-quadrennial years, and procedures by which taxing bodies can protest property assessments.

President Hasken then asked for public comment. John Grotto asked questions of the Board regarding their goals in protesting the assessment, and of the attorney regarding likely fees that will be incurred in filing the protest.

The Board adjourned to closed session at 7:20 to discuss “Litigation, when an action against, affecting or on behalf of the particular District has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the District finds that an action is probable or imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the closed meeting minutes. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(11).”

President Hasken stated that the basis for adjourning to closed session was that action to litigate is both “probable and imminent,” since the deadline for the District to file an assessment appeal is January 27, 2012.

The Board exited closed session at 8:45 and approved the closed session minutes. They then approved a motion to authorize proceeding with a protest to the Carroll County Board of Review on the real estate tax assessment.

In a position statement published in the Jan. 11, 2012 Prairie Advocate News, the Eastland Board of Education stated, “If allowed to be finalized without protest, a re-assessment of this scope will result in a loss of revenue for the Eastland District of significant monies - not only in 2012, but compounded in all future years.”

The meeting adjourned at 8:46 p.m.

See LETTERS for a difference of opinion from the Lake Carroll Property Owners Association.