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Kane County Reporter

Sunday, April 20, 2025

Aurora West USD 129 holds $131.1 million in long-term debt

Elm 16

Aurora West Unit School District 129 has $131,063,000 in debt, according to Illinois State Board of Education 2016 financial reports obtained by the Kane County Reporter.

Because state law allows the district to borrow a total of $184,816,416, Aurora West USD 129 has reached 70.9 percent of its debt capacity.

The state limits how much school districts can borrow, capping their debt at a percentage of the district's property wealth, as determined by county and township assessors.

Community unit school districts are able to borrow up to 13.8 percent of their total property value, or Equalized Assessed Value (EAV). Elementary school districts are able to borrow up to 6.9 percent of their EAV.

However, school districts exceeding these debt caps are not punished or sanctioned, as the state has no enforcement mechanism in place.

In 2015, Aurora West Unit 129, an unit school district, had an EAV of $1,339,249,391, according to ISBE.

The following table ranks debt held by Kane County school districts.

School district
Maximum debt allowed
Current debt
Percentage used
Aurora East USD 131
$78,399,144
$119,668,441
152.6%
Kaneland CUSD 302
$98,434,778
$114,604,654
116.4%
Geneva CUSD 304
$177,623,507
$136,037,916
76.6%
Aurora West USD 129
$184,816,416
$131,063,000
70.9%
SD U-46
$569,694,431
$311,759,298
54.7%
Central CUSD 301
$82,685,978
$33,686,351
40.7%
St Charles CUSD 303
$373,984,303
$65,385,000
17.5%

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