PEORIA, Ill. – Before the previous version adjourned for the final time, the Peoria Public Schools Board passed on putting a sales tax referendum on the November ballot.
At a special meeting Wednesday afternoon, the board tabled the referendum regarding the Peoria County School Facilities Sales Tax. The proposal would have increased it to a penny from its current half-cent for the purpose of funding maintenance, upgrades, construction costs, and personnel.
The vote was to come before a reorganization meeting to seat two newly-elected board members, Andres Diaz and Sarah Howard. It was also the first meeting in charge for the new superintendent, Dr. Jerry Bell.
Those reasons were why board member Paris McConnell led a motion to remove the referendum vote from the consent agenda, and to table the topic to a future meeting.
“It’s not fair to this new leadership team to have to inherit a potential plan that has not been hammered out,” McConnell said.
The item also received pushback in public comment from citizens concerned about the timing of trying to put the referendum on the ballot. Board member Christina Rose advocated for wanting a presentation on how exactly the additional funds from the sales tax increase would be used. Board member Brenda Wilson criticized the timing, saying she first heard about the proposal on Friday via calls from the media for comment on it.
Bell says he would like to host community forums and town halls on the sales tax increase. But with a deadline of August 17th to approve it for the November ballot, Bell believes next year is more likely.
“Sometimes you have to go slow to go far,” Bell said. “Who says we can’t do it in 2027?”
