Hinsdale Voters Approve $140 Million Tax Referendum To Avert Planned Cuts To District 86 Schools

CHICAGO (CBS) -- With school sports and activities on the line, voters in west suburban Hinsdale approved a $140 million referendum to fund improvements at two high schools in District 86.

With the referendum passing on Tuesday, the school board will meet inside the Hinsdale South High School cafeteria on Wednesday to begin reversing cuts to extracurricular programs, which had been approved in December.

On Monday, hundreds of Hinsdale Central High School students walked out of class to protest the cuts ahead of the referendum vote.

Among the programs the district planned to cut: football, swimming, wrestling and marching band.

Out of the more than 24,000 ballots cast Tuesday, about 60 percent of voters were in favor of the referendum, which will be funded with property tax increases.

With passage of the referendum, the owner of a home at the Hinsdale median property value of $460,000 would pay about $260 a year in additional property taxes.

The $140 million raised by the referendum will go towards making both Hinsdale South and Hinsdale Central accessible to people with disabilities, adding more lighting and installing new safety equipment.

The last time Hinsdale voters approved a tax referendum for District 86 was in 1962, to build Hinsdale South.