Frankfort School District 161 Meeting | November 19, 2025

Article Summary: The Summit Hill School District 161 Board of Education has formally begun its annual tax levy process, unanimously passing a resolution on Wednesday to estimate a 4.99% increase over the previous year’s extension. District officials emphasized this is a preliminary step designed to capture all potential revenue from new property development and does not represent a 4.99% increase in the tax rate.

Tax Levy Estimate Key Points:

• The board approved a resolution to estimate the 2025 levy at 4.99% above the 2024 tax extension.

• This percentage is requested to ensure the district can collect taxes from new property, which is not included in the base calculation.

• The final tax levy will be subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL), which is capped at the Consumer Price Index (2.9% for this cycle) or 5%, whichever is lower.

• A public hearing and final vote on the 2025 tax levy are scheduled for the board’s December 17 meeting.

The Summit Hill School District 161 board on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, approved its preliminary tax levy estimate, the first in a series of steps to determine the district’s property tax request for the coming year.

The board voted unanimously to adopt a resolution estimating the 2025 tax levy at 4.99% over the 2024 extension. Officials clarified that this is a procedural estimate and not the final levy amount or a direct increase to the tax rate. The primary purpose of estimating a “balloon” levy just under the 5% threshold is to allow the district to capture tax revenue from new property growth within its boundaries.

“Most districts will levy at the 4.99% because they want to ensure that they are incorporating new property and getting the amount of money necessary for going forward,” said a district administrator.

The final amount the district can receive is limited by the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL), which caps the increase on existing property at the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 5%, whichever is less. For the 2025 levy, the applicable CPI is 2.9%.

In the interest of transparency, the district plans to publish a notice in the newspaper about the proposed levy. A public hearing is scheduled for the next regular board meeting on December 17, 2025, at which time the board is expected to take a final vote to adopt the levy.