A Piatt County school district receives over half of their revenues from property taxes and so last week when the Governor addressed a measure to freeze property taxes in his State of the State address, it certainly caught the attention of school leaders throughout Illinois.

Monticello Schools Superintendent Dr. Vic Zimmerman indicates property tax reforms have long been on the radar of school leaders in Illinois as the idea of freezing them has been floated around for several years in Springfield. He points out because they rely so heavily on local property taxes, they are carefully watching what Springfield does with any such measure.

While Governor JB Pritzker did not address pensions, school leaders are growing fearful the pension crisis in Illinois could lead Springfield to shift the pension burden onto local districts. Dr. Zimmerman says the crisis is not easing and something needs to be done.

For the last few years, districts have struggled to find and keep good teachers because of a shortage. Dr. Zimmerman indicates this was something that could have been prevented almost a decade ago.

Dr. Zimmerman explains the progressive income tax vote later this year could be tied to property tax reforms. He believes all superintendents have an eye on these issues right now.