Altamont Unit 10, Dieterich Unit 30, Effingham Unit 40 and Teutopolis Unit 50 have submitted their Tax Levy Certificates, which has each district’s estimate of how much property tax is needed to operate its schools for the next fiscal year.
The districts calculate this number based on the county’s estimated assessed value, but the final EAV figure is determined in the spring by county assessors. So, the four districts have to make an educated guess as to what the EAV will be based on previous years.
This month, each districts’ boards met to discuss and pass the districts’ tax levies.
During Altamont Unit 10’s meeting, the board passed its estimated tax levy of $4,729,530, which is based on an 11% increase in EAV from last year. Unit 10 Superintendent Casey Adam says the district’s levy is based on the eight to nine percent increase each year Effingham County has had in the past few years.
Dieterich Unit 30 passed its estimated tax levy with a rate of $3.67 per $100 of EAV. However, Superintendent Cary Jackson predicts the rate will be less than $3.67 because as EAV increases, the tax rate decreases and because his guess that EAV will increase by 17% is higher than it will actually be.
“I always put that number high enough to make sure that if something comes on the tax rolls that I’m not aware of – something big or if one of our townships gets reassessed and EAV goes up – then I capture what the school is supposed to be getting,” said Jackson. “We try to gather as much information to make as accurate of a guess that we can, but it’s still a guess, and we just won’t know until we get that certified rate in the spring.”
At Effingham Unit 40’s meeting, the board passed its estimated tax levy of $28,676,851, which is about an 8.3% increase from last year’s of $26,485,919.57.
The Teutopolis Unit 50 Board of Education passed its estimated tax levy of $7,542,003, which would result in a tax rate between $3.48 and $3.50. This would be a decrease of six to eight cents compared to last year’s tax levy.
Along with Units 10, 30 and 40, Unit 50’s estimated tax levy is based on historical trends and to help ensure the district captures all available funds to maintain long-term financial stability, says Teutopolis Unit 50 Superintendent Matthew Sturgeon via email.
“For Teutopolis residents, this projected decrease continues a trend of strong fiscal stewardship, as the district has reduced its tax rate by approximately 6% over the past seven years,” said Sturgeon.
“Through conservative fiscal management, the district has been able to spend and save responsibly, allowing it to fund ongoing facility improvements through reserves,” continues Sturgeon. “These include the 2025 renovation of the high school cafeteria and the junior high school expansion and partial renovations scheduled for spring and summer 2026.”