The Bloomington-Normal branch of the NAACP and the Bloomington Revivalists held a forum at the Bloomington Public Library on Saturday that included candidates in the municipal election on April 1, as well as a lot of discussion about the countywide school sales tax referendum.
NAACP president Linda Foster spoke on why the organization invited local superintendents to speak about the sales tax proposal.
“We thought it was important to allow the superintendents to come here and to speak about that, it is important to us, but we also know that the more information that you allow people to have, the more people will be more informed and educated on the positions,” she said. “Our position is to educate, to motivate, to collaborate and to partner with our community.”
District 87 Superintendent David Mouser and Unit 5 Superintendent Kristen Weikle spoke about what will happen if voters pass the referendum.
The countywide sales tax, which a majority of Illinois counties have adopted, would add a 1% sales tax on goods such as retail products, gasoline, and online purchases. The revenue could be used for school facility improvements, as well as school safety and security, mental health support and other areas.
On Saturday, Foster did not endorse passage of the tax, but did say the NAACP has concerns if it is not approved.
“We know that if it doesn’t happen who it impacts the most, and it most cases it’s going to be the marginalized, the ones who are not able to have a voice,” she said. “So, we want to make sure that all students have an opportunity to thrive, and if this 1% tax does that, as it’s been proposed, then we believe that we are supporting all students.”
Foster said she hopes the public evaluates the proposal and seeks out what they believe will bring the most benefits.
“It’s based on what people’s beliefs are,” she said. “They are involved, maybe within a community and the opportunity for our students and administrators to thrive in a more productive, more inclusive, more … positive environment.”
One of the promises of the sales tax, if approved, is property tax relief on homeowners in the county — the idea being if school districts receive funding from the tax, they will lessen the burden on homeowners who help finance schools through property taxes.
Foster acknowledged this and said that she didn’t feel the tax would be regressive, as one tax is proposed another would be decreased.
“I think it’s an opportunity for us to look at it either or,” she said. “Either we’re going to do it with the 1%, or we’re going to do it with some type of other referendum. But I believe as a whole, in the end, what is best for our kids and what is best for the administrators and so forth.”
Foster said another benefit would be since it is a sales tax, tourism and visitors to McLean County have the chance to support schools when they make purchases from local businesses.
“I think that’s the biggest difference, is that it would impact those who come into our community, that are able to benefit for the services that we have,” she said. “This is a great community, and we know that there are people from all over that do come here. Why not let them leave something here?”
Bloomington mayoral candidates
The forum also featured, among those running in other races, the candidates for mayor of Bloomington.
While incumbent Mboka Mwilambwe and current Ward 6 city council member Cody Hendricks have both come out in support of the sales tax, former state Rep. Dan Brady has not personally thrown his support either way. He confirmed that he believes the decision is best left to voters.
“I think that my record in public education has been very strong, and I support public education, and I support public education as much as possible,” said Brady. “The reality, though, of the sales tax increase needs to rely with the voters and that’s what I’ve indicated before and I’ve indicated still and so those voters need to make that decision.”
Mouser and Weikle spoke about the sales tax and how the extra revenue could serve local schools. They discussed enhancing security and safety, bringing facilities into compliance, additional pre-K facilities, modernizing career and technical education areas and expanding mental health support services for students.
Mouser reiterated the position that it is up to the voters to decide if the tax is an appropriate change to make.
“We decided as educational leaders that it was time to put this back on the ballot to give people a choice, to see if this funding stream made sense,” he said.
Other than the specifics of what goods the tax applies to and how the funds could be used, Weikle also discussed how prevalent the tax is in Illinois.
“More than 60% of the counties have this in place, they’ve already decided this makes sense,” she said. “So, if any of you are a U of I fan … and you go to a game and maybe you stop to get gas, you stop to get a pop before the game, you go out to eat before or after, you are contributing to Champaign public schools and every school district in Champaign County ... same way with Springfield and Peoria.”
The election is April 1. Early voting is underway.
