At Prospect Heights School District 23, we engage ALL students in experiences that inspire EACH to grow as learners, individuals, and community members.

Because we’re a small district, we are able to build relationships between families, staff, and the community at large that make our schools feel like family. Through our innovative grade-level center approach, we are student-focused, ensuring every child gets the personal support they need to meet their full potential. As a result, all four of our schools are highly rated, our students’ readiness and proficiency rates are significantly above the state average, and we are among the top 20% of districts in the state for math and reading.

But, rising costs and limited revenue have brought District 23 to a crossroads and puts the quality education our community expects at risk. 

 We have worked diligently to build successful programs and provide needed services to the students, staff, and D23 community. Refinancing our existing debt allowed us to generate the needed funds to build a smaller version of our Eisenhower addition and make the critical upgrades to the doors, windows, and siding at MacArthur. We've already made some cuts to programs, services, staffing, and budgets to generate the required revenue to meet the Full-day Kindergarten mandate in the Fall of 2027.

We are one of the most fiscally conservative districts in the region. Our tax rate is second lowest among all our neighboring districts, we always operate with a balanced budget, and we deliberately maintain the lowest fund balance in the region—we see that as good stewardship of our community’s tax dollars. We haven’t passed a referendum since 1987, despite receiving limited funding from federal and state sources. As a result, our funding levels are among the lowest in the region, but we make do with what we have, actively maintaining our facilities while focusing every possible dollar into classrooms to benefit students.

Inflation and rapidly increasing expenses, however, have limited the impact of these fiscally responsible actions. Paired with complications in receiving tax revenue from Cook County resulting in lost interest income, minimal increases in State funding, underfunded reimbursements, and budget reductions from the Federal government, we project that we will no longer be able to MAINTAIN our current levels of programs and services after FY2028.

While we have addressed several safety and security concerns across the District, enhanced energy efficiency and improved the building envelope at MacArthur, Ross, and Sullivan, and are currently funding the Eisenhower addition through a NO TAX INCREASE refinancing, we face a structural deficit. Without additional funding, meeting our current obligations will require the district to reallocate existing resources, leading to increased class sizes and cuts to programs and services districtwide. 

For a community that takes so much pride in our high-quality education, this is not the future we want for our kids. Especially since it would also likely hurt our property values as prospective home buyers begin to look elsewhere.

That’s why our Board of Education and Administration have developed a Sustainable Financing Plan to address these challenges through an increase in revenue, reductions in programs and services, and modification to assumptions.

Being sensitive to the impact of tax increases on the community and the challenges we all face in today's economy, this plan demonstrates a 3rd reduction in the referendum ask and now seeks $0.35.

This new, reduced plan will appear on the November 3rd ballot, with a reduced annual tax impact of $336 - or $28 per month -  for the average home. If successful, the referendum would generate up to $4M in new revenue to MAINTAIN CURRENT PROGRAMS AND SERVICES. 

Our kids deserve the same quality educational opportunities available to students in neighboring districts. The community’s plan for our schools would sustain our successful academic, social/emotional, and extra-curricular programming, ensure every student has the support they need,  protect the investment the community has made in its facilities, and maintain the safety and security for our teachers and students. And it would maintain and even potentially increase home values for our residents.

click on the links to learn more about the Building a Better D23 Plan