By: Diane Benjamin
The Pantagraph reported today the Heartland Board passed an operating budget that is 7.8% higher than last year.
The overall budget is 13.4% higher than last year.
Heartland approved a huge tax increase last year. When your property tax bill increased – much of it was Heartland!
Below are the tax rates for the last few years:
2013: .48255
2014: .50667
2015: .50469
2016: .58840
Those rates mean that for a house valued at $150,000:
In 2013 the tax was $241.28 (150,000 / 3 * .48255)
In 2016 the tax was $294.20 (150,000 / 3 * .58840)
That homeowner has $53.92 less to spend where they want JUST attributable to Heartland. Add to that all the increases from the numerous other taxing bodies and it’s not hard to see why citizens are moving out!
https://blnnews.com/2016/04/06/heartland-abates-taxes-too/
In the early 1990’s Heartland was sold as never needing a brick and mortar campus. The tax rate used to be less than .15. (Pantagraph archives – Editorial dated Nov 20, 1994)
Besides abating taxes as described in the above story, Heartland offers scholarships to athletes:
http://www.heartland.edu/advisement/current/athletes.html
Tuition at Heartland is $8,250 a year?
Not if you get it free courtesy of property taxes! It sure looks like they will even cover athletes from out-or-state!
The tax rate when Heartland was founded was less than .15. That means the home owner of that $150,000 house used to pay $75.00
Enrollment is down and taxes are up.
Heartland’s mission may have started as affordable education.
Now its fancy facilities and sports. How much money is spent transporting teams to games not held in Normal?
The citizens were lied to.
When is Heartland going to stop stealing more and more of your money?
When voters start paying attention!
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This really PI$$ES me off. In 1990 we were promised that Heartland would never need a brick and mortar campus. I knew then it was a lie. Soon they wanted a $50MM campus. Then it was more money for more buildings and then it was athletics and out-of-district athletes!!!
Good grief do you expect a teacher in the union to be working in some rental building using the public restroom Jim. Not to mention getting chalk board dust on their hands. Whiteboards and private restrooms is the only way to go for quality education. LOL
Honestly I don’t know if the teachers are in a union. I thought they used part time instructors but I may be wrong. I know when I was on a school board we wanted to have dual credits for students that could attend Heartland and their senior year in H.S. OMG the district teacher’s union wouldn’t see that. They wanted to tell HL who they could hire and for darn sure they wanted them in their union. We gave that idea a bye bye.
One has to wonder what they spend on those course’s being offered booklet they mail out that go into the trash by most residents. Probably isn’t even printed in the district too.
I forget, what did they spend on that windmill generator? Most of the time I never see it spinning. Oh yeah the rate of return on that was going to be UGE! Oh yeah right my ….
I had a friend that wanted to take HVAC education. He had to go over to either ICC or Parkland. Here Heartland was supposed to be offering education for the work force. To eager to jump onto the athletic band wagon first I guess. Seems like their priority is messed up, Heartland I mean. We don’t have a degree in HVAC but we offer athletics. You can get a certificate in HVAC but no guarantee the courses will transfer.
Another government funded adventure gone awry. Who would have guessed.
Not to mention that “self-sufficient” wind turbine! Is that money blowing in the wind I hear??
I have been observing the cost of going to Heartland junior college for many years and I too am angry over what this college has added that has driven these costs beyond what the average person can afford. I graduated from Parkland junior college many years ago, 44 years to be exact. I worked part time at minimum wage jobs as my parents could not afford to pay for my schooling but I was able to pay for my tuition and books on what I made.
Junior college is supposed to be an affordable alternative to those want to further their education beyond high school.
How sad that the decision makers for Heartland college have not only driven the poor homeowners taxes out of sight but have also placed the burden on the backs of those students wishing to further their education. They all should be ashamed.
I went to Richland in the 70’s, I remember a semester costing around $100. Best educational experience I had was there.
Diane=—keep up the pressure—lovin you articals.
DICK Sent from Mail for Windows 10