Proposed County School Facility Occupation Tax (CSFT)

What is the CSFT?

The County School Facility Occupation Tax (CSFT) is a countywide funding option created by the Illinois General Assembly that lets voters approve a 1% sales tax to fund school facility improvements, mental health professionals, and school resource officers. The Lake County Regional Office of Education has placed this on the ballot for November 3, 2026.

It is intended to provide an alternative revenue stream and reduce reliance on local property taxes. If approved by voters on November 3, this tax is estimated to generate $121.2 million annually for Lake County public school districts. The funds generated from this tax can be used to pay for improvements to school buildings, safety, and mental health support. It is meant to provide an alternative to local property taxes for these costs.

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What can the funds be used for?

Illinois law is very clear about how the revenue can be used. Revenue generated from the proposed sales tax could be used for capital projects, facility maintenance, mental health services, safety and security, and tax abatements. It cannot be used for general school salaries, instructional materials, or other operating costs.

Barrington 220 is exploring these options should the referendum pass:

Facility Maintenance: Funding projects directly with sales tax revenue, potentially avoiding costly deferred maintenance or the need for new bonds and future debt service property tax increases.
Safety and Security: Using funds to address safety and security goals, such as offsetting the cost of School Resource Officers (SROs)
Debt Management: Using the funds as a debt management solution, which could mean abating taxes or reducing the need to issue debt for capital improvements. Both scenarios would be a savings directly to taxpayers.

Key Questions

How much money would Barrington 220 receive if voters approved this measure?

This tax is estimated to generate $121.2 million annually for Lake County public school districts. Dollars are dispersed to districts based on the number of students that live in Lake County.

If we look at data from the 2024-2025 school year, our district's enrollment was 7,936. Of that, 3,210 live in Lake County. That would be the official figure for Barrington 220 had a CSFT been in place that year.

That's roughly 2.8% of the student population across the county, so that's the percentage of the overall CSFT dollars ($121.2 million as mentioned above) that would be earmarked for Barrington 220.

That equates out to an estimated $3,011,856.

How might proceeds be used in Barrington 220?

As mentioned above, Barrington 220 is exploring these options should the referendum pass:

Facility Maintenance: Funding projects directly with sales tax revenue, potentially avoiding costly deferred maintenance or the need for new bonds and future debt service property tax increases.
Safety and Security: Using funds to address safety and security goals, such as offsetting the cost of School Resource Officers (SROs)
Property Tax Abatement: Using sales tax revenues to reduce community debt service obligations through tax abatements to taxpayers.

Barrington 220 sits in four counties. How does that work with this?

When would funds be dispersed to districts?

Do Lake County residents pay the entire tax?

No. Anyone who travels through or visits the county and makes a qualifying retail purchase contributes to the revenue. A December 2025 report from PGAV Planners estimates that at least 52% of retail transactions in Lake County are made by people who live outside the county.

That means a significant share of any CSFT revenue would come from non-residents, such as shoppers, visitors, and commuters, rather than from local property taxpayers.

Lake County Regional Office of Education