Districts welcome MVCC, with some exceptions

The superintendent of a Tinley Park school district that will miss out on millions in property taxes if Moraine Valley Community College builds a campus here says the issue highlights the inequities in school funding statewide.

"It shows what mayors and trustees face," said Supt. Mike Byrne, who leads Kirby Elementary School District 140. "They want to share this tax burden, but they can't."

Schools are not on the property tax roll.

It's not that homeowners and businesses will have to shell out more tax money if Moraine builds at the southwest corner of 179th Street and 94th Avenue. But a business would generate sales and property taxes, therefore sharing the tax burden and lowering property taxes, Byrne said.

Homeowners foot the largest share of revenue for Illinois public schools, leading to less money for schools in poor communities, state Board of Education spokesman Matt Vanover said. Funding reform advocates say that's because the state doesn't kick in enough money. Illinois ranks 49th out of 50 states in the portion of state revenue funding public schools, causing property owners to shoulder the burden, according to the bipartisan think tank Center for Tax and Budget Accountability.

Moraine's new campus could cause District 140 to lose $6.4 million and Consolidated High School District 230 $4.1 million in property taxes over 10 years, according to a Tinley Park cost comparison.

Over 10 years, Moraine employees and students would generate about $182,100 in tax revenue for Tinley Park by spending money in the village compared with the $16.6 million a 100,000-square-foot retail and office development could garner at the same site, according to the village.

District 230 Supt. James Gay said he likes to have money coming into the district, but the now-vacant land Moraine plans to transform into a school isn't generating much tax revenue anyway.

"We also look at the benefit ... of having a college at the side of our district," Gay said.

Andrew High School students take classes at Moraine during the day if the Tinley Park high school doesn't have a course students want, Gay said. Moraine also pays $7,000 a year to lease space at Andrew for night classes, District 230 spokeswoman Carla Erdey said.

"I can't argue about a phantom possible other owner," Gay said, referring to Moraine's property. "So the fact that (Moraine) owns the land, we'd like to continue our positive relationship with Moraine Valley ... and Mayor (Ed) Zabrocki and Tinley Park."

Kristen Schorsch can be reached at kschorsch@southtownstar.com or (708) 633-5992. Kristen also blogs about Tinley Park at blogs.southtownstar.com.