Mokena District 159 Board Approves 2025 Tax Levy Following Debate Over Fund Allocations

Mokena School District 159 Meeting | December 17, 2025

Article Summary: The Mokena School District 159 Board of Education on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, approved a $22.5 million final tax levy following a public hearing and a divided vote. The board debated whether to reallocate more funds to the Education Fund to combat a projected $1.3 million deficit or maintain high funding for facility maintenance.

2025 Tax Levy Key Points:

• The total levy request of $22,500,500 represents a 5.88% increase over the previous year’s extension.

• The board approved the levy with a 6-1 vote, with Secretary Kelli MacMillan dissenting due to concerns over deficit spending in the Education Fund.

• The district used a “balloon levy” strategy, requesting a 12.56% increase in Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV) to ensure all available tax revenue is captured before final figures are released by the county in March.

• Officials noted that Mokena District 159 maintains one of the lowest tax rates among Will County elementary districts and Lincoln-Way feeder schools.

The Mokena School District 159 Board of Education on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, formally adopted its 2025 tax levy following a Truth in Taxation hearing. The approved levy totals $22,500,500, a move officials say is necessary to manage rising personnel costs while maintaining the district’s facilities.

The session was marked by a sharp debate regarding how tax dollars are distributed across district accounts. Secretary Kelli MacMillan cast the lone dissenting vote, arguing that the district should have shifted more of the levy away from the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) fund and into the Education Fund to address a significant deficit.

“We’re over a million dollars this year in deficit spending in the education fund,” MacMillan said, noting that fund balances are projected to decline by $1.3 million by June 2026. “Raises are compounding, benefits are raising… we have to prioritize how we allocate money. Doing things like floors, sheds, and carpeting is ‘nice to have’ stuff, but we don’t have the money in the bank account to pay salaries and benefits.”

Chief School Business Official Dr. Teri Shaw and other board members defended the current allocation. Dr. Shaw noted that the O&M fund was bolstered following a limiting rate referendum intended to ensure the district’s buildings remain “warm, safe, and dry.”

Board member Maura Briscoe expressed hesitation at cutting maintenance funds, recalling the district’s previous struggles before the 2019 referendum. “I hesitate to think that if we cut money out of keeping our buildings up… what the situation would be going back to our taxpayers to ask for a referendum,” Briscoe said.

The approved levy includes $15.4 million for the Education Fund, $4.2 million for Operations and Maintenance, and $850,000 for Special Education. Despite the total dollar increase, Dr. Shaw highlighted that the district’s actual tax rate is trending downward as local property values (EAV) rise.

The 2025 levy is intended to generate revenue to fund approximately 51% of the current 2025-2026 school year and 49% of the 2026-2027 school year.