Southland school district boasts 100% property tax rebate

While their south and southwest suburban neighbors bemoaned historically high property tax bills this summer, a small school district serving New Lenox and Joliet boasts a complete rebate of its taxes on homeowners.

Union Elementary District 81 has provided at least partial rebates for the 554 homes in their K-8 district for almost a decade, totaling more than $3 million. Union 81 also recently reached the top 1% of elementary schools across the country as well as the top 1% of Illinois schools, according to Niche.com.

Anna Homolka, whose three children have attended Union 81, said the district rebate cuts her overall property taxes in half. The school also provides all students free breakfast and lunch and charges no fees for registration or field trips.

However, the district’s reputation was not always so positive, Homolka said. When her family first moved to their New Lenox home in 2011, Homolka did not realize they were within the boundaries of the tiny district.

“Because we’re on the New Lenox side, we thought we were in New Lenox schools,” Homolka said. “We went to do our research for the school and found out it was not rated very highly at all. And then getting the opinions of other parents and people in the district — the ratings were low.”

The school was in debt and lacking many of the resources available at surrounding schools. Homolka said she was disappointed and didn’t imagine wanting to keep her children in the school of fewer than 100 students long term.

But when Tim Baldermann, a retired police chief who is also New Lenox mayor, stepped in as Union 81 superintendent in 2012, things apparently began to change for Homolka and others in the district.

Baldermann, who at the time lacked any specific expertise in education, began making dramatic changes to district finances, including dismissing some tenured teachers and ensuring those who remained taught only their certified subjects.

“That’s really unheard of in school districts,” Baldermann said Friday. “It wasn’t even just about performance. It was about, you know, did we really need the staff that we had, the number of staff that we had? So we made those decisions.”

Baldermann said he also made physical changes to the Joliet school building, gutting an industrial kitchen that previously cost the district several hundred thousand dollars a year to maintain.

Bold changes, in addition to a growing industrial tax base, helped the district climb out of debt and eventually sustain itself without the need for property taxes for homeowners. Union 81 provided the first 100% rebate to homeowners this year, which Baldermann said he plans to continue. District enrollment has also jumped due to the school’s newfound desirability.

Baldermann, whose salary is $212,000, acknowledges the school’s geographic location makes its situation unique. The school district levies more than it needs in property taxes, and then rebates the taxes only for homeowners, leaving commercial and industrial property owners still paying the higher rate.

The district is not in any tax increment financing district and commercial properties contributed $4.5 million this year alone.

Baldemann follows a similar tax plan in New Lenox, where the village levies more than is needed and then provides rebates only to owner occupied homes.

Still, Baldermann said he believes through fiscal responsibility, other schools across Illinois could achieve similar results as Union 81.

“The mindset of government, whether it’s local, county, state or federal, whether it’s schools, parks or villages, is that we better hoard all the cash that we can, because you never know what’s going to come up,” Baldermann said. “Well, you only need so much on hand. We would never give a dime back to our residents if our kids needed anything, but the kids have … everything they need for free.”

Homolka said she and many other parents are grateful for Baldermann’s leadership, which turned the school around so much that her family avoided moving from their starter home in order to stay in the district.

“That’s what kept us here, really — the school district and everything that Tim’s done and the education for my children, knowing how great it is,” Homolka said. “It’s not even everything about the tax rebate. It’s the way my children are treated every day and the way that they come home, not wanting to miss school. It’s huge.”

ostevens@chicagotribune.com