CLINTON - Terry Ferguson, a DeWitt County Board member, has seen
firsthand how devaluation of the Clinton nuclear power plant can
put the squeeze on local government.
And, he says, the schools are in the same boat.Ferguson was one
of more than 75 community members who came to the auditorium at
Clinton High School on Thursday evening to hear school officials
present their case for an increase in the education fund tax rate
from $1.84 to $3.04."We've gotten by a long time on the good graces
of that power plant," Ferguson said. "Sometimes, you've just got to
bite the bullet."The issue is expected to be on the March primary
election ballot. If approved, it could mean an increase in taxes of
about $240 for a $60,000 home, about $360 on a $90,000 home and
$480 on a $120,000 home.The power plant's equalized assessed
valuation has been decreasing each year under an agreement
negotiated among local governments and AmerGen Energy Co., which
owns the plant. In 1988, the power plant provided about 86 percent
of local tax dollars for the education fund, but that will drop to
about 38 percent in 2005, a decrease of nearly $3 million.At the
end of this school year, the district will have about $4.7 million
in reserve in the education fund. But in the 2006 fiscal year, it's
projected to be $1 million in the red, and the situation will get
worse, cautioned Assistant Superintendent Jeff Holmes."We can't cut
our way out of this," he said. "No is not an option."Bart Speta of
Illinois State Board of Education said the numbers Holmes projected
were legitimate and realistic. "It's no smoke and mirrors show," he
said. "It's very real."Tax referendums pass at a rate of about 25
percent, Speta added."It's ugly," he said. "Time is of the
essence."Ruth Lowers, school board president, encouraged those in
attendance to join committees forming to help in the effort to pass
the tax hike.Several took her advice as they exited the
meeting.Among them was Kim Gaff, who runs the elementary school's
birth to age 3 program. She signed up on a committee to help get
out the vote."I think it's going to be a tough sell," she said.
"But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try."Mike Frazier can be
reached at 421-7985.
