The Riverside School District 96 Board of Education on Nov. 19 approved a 2025 tax levy increase of 3.7% for new residential and commercial properties in the district and 2.9% for existing properties.
According to the district’s interim director of finance, Dr. Mark Kuzniewski, the district’s tax levy for existing properties is capped to whichever is lower – 5%, or the consumer price index for 2025, which is 2.9%.
The lightly attended public hearing that proceeded the vote featured only one speaker. The hearing was not legally required because the tax levy increase is less than 5%, Kuzniewski said, but was prudent in the interest of transparency.
“We’re capped at CPI,” he said. “In the days when the district could levy whatever amount they could levy, that probably created more consternation among folks,” he said.
A public hearing “draws attention to your board’s agenda,” he said. “People have the opportunity to be heard. [The board] is the fiscal agent of the residents in the community in which it serves.”
He added that the new property trend from 2023 and 2024 was roughly $400,000 in new property values.
Kuzniewski, the former superintendent of Brookfield-La Grange Park School District 96, said the district has zero debt service and that he’s pleased with its overall financial position.
“I think the district is in good financial shape, and I think the district has used reserves appropriately to address buildings and infrastructure,” he said. “The board has done an excellent job using reserve funds to address these very much needed building projects, whether it’s a new roof or an addition.”
District students come primarily from Riverside, though a small contingency comes from Brookfield, North Riverside and Lyons.
