Lincoln-Way 210 Reports Lowest High School Tax Rate in the Area

Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 Meeting | May 21, 2026

Article Summary: Superintendent Dr. Scott Tingley told the Lincoln-Way District 210 board on Thursday, May 21, 2026, that the district holds one of the lowest operating tax rates among area high school districts at 1.5802, while flagging the district’s roughly $30 million in remaining bond debt as its primary tax challenge.

Tax Rate Comparison Key Points:

• Lincoln-Way 210’s 2024 operating tax rate of 1.5802 is the lowest among Will County and neighboring high school districts surveyed, second-lowest overall only to Hinsdale Township District 86 at 1.4606.
• The district has eight years remaining on roughly $30 million in bond payments, which Tingley called the district’s “albatross.”
• After the $30 million obligation ends, payments drop to about $14.5 million for two years before reaching zero.
• A fuller budget analysis is planned for the fall.

NEW LENOX — Superintendent Dr. Scott Tingley used his district report at the Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 board meeting on Thursday, May 21, 2026, to highlight the district’s comparatively low tax burden as residents feel the pinch of recently issued tax bills.

According to a business office memo from Assistant Superintendent Michael Duback dated May 11, 2026, Lincoln-Way’s 2024 operating tax rate of 1.5802 is the lowest among the 9–12 districts surveyed across Will County and the neighboring DuPage, Grundy, Kankakee, and Kendall counties — with the single exception of Hinsdale Township High School District 86 at 1.4606. Tingley noted the district’s rate sits below Lockport, Morris, and Bradley-Bourbonnais, among others. Cook County districts were excluded from the comparison because their funding structures differ.

“We are the lowest high school” rate in the area, Tingley said, citing a district figure of roughly $1.58. The data, aggregated by the Illinois State Board of Education, will be used for the upcoming FY2027 Evidence-Based Funding calculations.

Bond Debt the Primary Challenge

Tingley identified the district’s outstanding bonds as its main tax pressure. The district has eight years left on roughly $30 million in bond obligations, which the board previously restructured to pay under 2% interest. “Cleaned up a bad structure,” he said, while calling the remaining debt “our albatross right now.”

After that $30 million obligation comes off the books in eight years, Tingley said, payments would run about $14.5 million for two years before dropping to zero. He said a board policy currently set at 12 years would step down to 10, then eight, then six years, eventually reaching a point where life-safety spending might run about $5 million a year rather than the $30 million currently devoted to bonds.

Tingley said the district remains one of the lowest-spending in the collar counties in terms of expenditure per pupil and tax rate, and that a more comprehensive analysis would come with the budget presentation in the fall.