Both school districts serving Northfield families have now formally opposed the village's proposed Tax Increment Financing district.

The Sunset Ridge School District 29 Board voted unanimously on Tuesday, June 9, to pass a resolution opposing the TIF, which would cover Northfield's Village Center corridor along Waukegan Road.

The vote makes D29 the second institutional opponent in three weeks, following New Trier High School District 203's opposition at its Monday, May 18, board meeting.

"The messaging [of the TIF district] I would just say is pretty misleading," D29 Board President Holt Zeidler said at the June 9 meeting. "You can't say that there's no impact on schools."

The core concern: while TIF districts don't directly divert existing school funds, they freeze property-tax growth within the district boundary for up to 23 years. Schools cannot tap rising property values inside the TIF zone during that period.

That matters more now because of a specific development. The Northfield Village Board on May 26 approved a four-story, 92-unit luxury apartment building by REVA Development Partners at 400-480 Central Avenue, located within the proposed TIF boundary.

D29 Superintendent Edward Stange warned the building would bring new students into the district while the TIF would freeze the tax base, preventing the school from capturing increased property-tax revenue generated by the new building.

Board member Sam Tideman raised a longer-term concern, noting that additional housing developments over the TIF's 23-year lifespan would each bring students without commensurate revenue for schools.

D29's resolution urges the village to explore alternative economic development strategies, provide additional financial analysis of the downtown area, and communicate directly with the school district about the TIF's status.

The district also intends to form a joint review board to stay involved in the village's TIF planning.

New Trier officials argued in May that a Northfield TIF would push higher taxes onto surrounding communities that share the high school district.

According to the Record North Shore, the Northfield Village Board is scheduled to vote Tuesday, June 23, on setting a public hearing date for the TIF proposal. Village officials have estimated a final decision will come in September.

As of June 17, no response from Northfield village officials on the D29 opposition was available in published reports.