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Peoria Public School Board Approves Adding Sales Tax Increase to Ballot

Cass Herrington
/
Peoria Public Radio

Peoria District 150 School Board unanimously approved adding a tax referendum question to the November ballot.

The Peoria Public School Board approval was necessary to get the half-a-percent facilities-sales-tax question on the ballot, because it serves more than 49-percent of the county’s population.

Mick Willis is the District’s new Treasurer. He says the tax referendum question would mean an estimated four-point-two  million dollars toward District 150 facilities improvements:

“Right now this is probably the best thing for facility needs that we have a long list of and that need to be addressed,” Willis said.      

The .5 percent facilities sales tax question was already approved by the Dunlap and Princeville School Boards. Approval would also conceivably make way for extending learning time with the addition of air conditioning in many of Peoria’s Schools.

In other business:

  • 285 students are also excluded from school for lacking necessary first-day health-exams. 223 students are still in school with pending appointments.
  • This is the first time the district has used first day compliance.
  • The district is also trying to cover 68 teaching vacancies.