Feedback on Bartlett

Bartlett is a good town but take some things into consideration
check on how much the taxes go up per year.I know bartlett was the highest a few years running.
The schools are Elgin.

Hi J.,

I know how important choosing the right school district is for our kids. I'm not all that familiar with Bartlett, but I am a teacher and I would suggest that you go to the Illinois State Board of Education website (isbe.net) and search for the district's report card. Click on report card (left menu) and then you can click Report Card Search. Things you might want to consider when looking at the different schools in the district are the "average" number of kids per classroom, the test scores for the ISAT tests (K-8) and make sure to check out the high school, too. Make sure the good test scores continue through HS. I know we were looking in Elgin and our daughter would go to a brand new elementary and middle school with all the other kids in the brand new subdivision (and the schools test scores were fine), but it didn't change the fact that she would go to Elgin High School - and that was a deal breaker for us. Good Luck!!
Nikki

I lived in nearby Elgin, I have friends that live there and many do so because of good schools and a lovely community...I would live there myself if it were closer to my husbands work. Hope this helps,
T.

HI. I live in Carol Stream and have lots of firends in Bartlett. The school there (in u-46) are terrible - tons of overcrowding and a sever financial problem. I'd suggest finding a home nearby in a better school district. U-46 is notoriously bad.

We have lived in Bartlett for 2 years and love it! The community is fantastic and from what I understand, the schools are very good. There are two high schools, one being the newest on the far West end of Bartlett which certain Bartlett and some Elgin children attend. There are many elementary and Junior high schools in which you would need to do some research to find out which school you would prefer over others. Overall, it really is a great place to live and raise children!

I have lived in Bartlett for almost 15 years and I would definately caution you on a few points before purchasing a home here. Don't get me wrong, we do love living here - the town is beautiful and very family friendly with many parks, bike trails and activities. But...

First and foremost the schools are terrible (Check out District U46 with the State of Illinois). They have been on the state warning list for years! Not to mention that the schools themselves are over-crowded. Sure, there are new schools, but children from other towns are bussed in to create an "ethnically diversified" student population...also, some of the new schools have sat empty because of the lack of funding to open them. Unfortunately, this district also does not know how to effectivly run itself - almost half of our property taxes (over $4,000.00 this year) were funneled into the U46 school district (think - that's approxoimately $4,000 in taxes times about 10,000 homes a year) and they are still over $40 million+ in debt. We feel so strongly that this district is so bad, that we send our child to a private school and need to spend almost another $2000/yr on his education.

The second thing I would warn you of is the yearly property tax increase. Our property taxes have risen expedentially in the years that we have lived here...there seems to be no end to the rate hikes.

And thirdly, our water has had a problem with Radium (it does cause cancer and does not need to be injested to cause cancer, it can be absorbed through the skin). The levels have been above the EPA standard for a few years at one of our wells (there are 4 wells total) and now a second well has been found to contain Radium. None of our water is pumped in from Lake Michigan.

Just some things to think about before moving here - things I don't think a realestate would tell you.

Try the website www.greatschools.net
There is a lot of info there!

By chance so you need a Realtor?