Mary Morgan Elementary School

Byron CUSD 226 Finance and Tax Bill Update

The Byron School District would like to take an opportunity to address any concerns taxpayers may have about the changes to the way the Byron Unit 226 tax rate has been reported on their Ogle County 2024 Real Estate Tax Bill and to clarify that the district has not raised its tax rate.

What does the district’s tax bill include, and how has it been reported to the community in the past? 

The school district’s total tax rate is the sum of several different funds - each with its own levy and tax rate.  Previously, the school district’s total tax rate was broken out into two categories and reported on the Real Estate Tax Bill as “Byron Unit 226” and “Byron Unit 226 Pension”.

What changes were made to the district’s tax bill this year?

Recently, Ogle County informed the school district that they would be creating a third category, “Byron Unit 226 Bonds,” to report the district’s Debt Service Levy separately on the real estate tax bill.  Because this is the first year the district’s bonds will be pulled out of the “Byron Unit 226” rate and reported separately on the tax bill, the prior year’s rate for the “Byron Unit 226 Bonds” category will be reported as “0” on the 2024 tax bill, despite the 2023 tax bill having a bond rate of 0.43.  The 2023 bond rate of 0.43 was included in the “Byron Unit 226” rate of 3.87475 on the 2023 tax bill.  (See table below.)

Why were these changes made to the 2024 tax bill?

In the summer of 2023, the Byron School District, along with several other taxing bodies, entered into a six-year tax agreement with Constellation Energy for the Byron Nuclear Power Plant. The agreement guarantees Constellation a fixed tax payment and a fixed assessed value for its property during the term of the agreement. For the past two years, Ogle County has had difficulty applying the agreement to Constellation Energy’s tax bill, as state statute prevents the reduction of a Debt Service Levy (Bonds).  Ogle County’s solution to accurately distribute Constellation’s tax payment, in accordance with the agreement, was to separate the bonds from the rest of the rate. Only the taxing bodies that are part of the long-term tax agreement with Constellation have their bonds listed separately on the tax bill.

What additional changes have occurred to the 2024 Byron Unit 226 tax rate?

This year’s bill is also unique because the Illinois Department of Revenue applied a multiplier to all assessed property values. Every property owner’s assessed value on their real estate bills increased from both the county and the state. Unfortunately, the state multiplier was applied to Byron Nuclear Power Plant in error.  As the tax agreement guarantees Constellation a fixed tax payment and a fixed assessed value, the application of the state multiplier to Byron Station resulted in an artificial reduction of the school district’s total tax rate.  The district’s total tax rate would have been 3.86, not 3.84, if the multiplier was not erroneously applied to the Byron Nuclear Power Plant. Ogle County has assured the school district that this error will be corrected for 2025 tax bills.

Have the projects currently underway at the school increased the tax rate?

No, they did not.  The Byron School District has been working hard to decrease its total tax rate since 2018 when it was 4.03. The long-term tax agreement with Constellation has given financial stability to the school district and as a result, the district has been able to plan and complete some very overdue repairs and renovations. The district secured its funding for these large capital projects through the sale of bonds. The bond sales were structured in a manner that keeps the tax rate stable, around 3.87, and the repayment schedule close to the timeframe of the long-term tax settlement agreement.

Has the district taken any other steps to help reduce costs?

Over the past several years, the school district has made conscientious decisions to minimize increases across its budget, especially to those costs that directly impact students’ families. The district has not increased registration fees since 2018 and has even reduced some at the high school level. The district only applies the minimum increase to school lunches as is required by the National School Lunch Program and has capped driver’s ed fees at $250. Over the last four years, the district has increased the number of dual credit and AP courses to help offset the financial impact of college on families.  In addition to that, the district has also prioritized and expanded its career and technical pathways (trades), enabling students to earn certifications and licensures, thereby giving students access to meaningful employment opportunities, apprenticeships, and entry to trade schools upon graduation.  The Byron School District is committed to maximizing its resources to provide the best education possible for the students of the Byron community in the most fiscally responsible manner.