Many northern Illinois voters will see school-related referendums on their ballot.
There are three main types of school finance referendums. One of the most common is a building bond.
“Some districts will have enough reserves to build another building or two -- others will not. Many will not, said Lynn Gibson. She's a retired school superintendent and current NIU professor. "So. as a result of that, they would go to referendum to get that building done, get those renovations taken care of or both."
DeKalb County voters will decide on a 1% school sales tax for facility repairs, as well as school resource officers and mental health professionals.
In several suburbs, there are also proposed increases to the school’s tax rate. Unlike the previous two, schools can use these to pay current teacher and staff salaries.
Over the past decade, about half of all school finance referendums have passed.
There are also non-finance questions. In Sycamore, voters will be asked if their school board members can be elected at large from anywhere in the district or by each congressional township.
