Supporters of Des Plaines Elementary District 62's fall tax-hike request are putting their message on television.

A 10-minute video - shot by employees and featuring staff, past and present, and parents - will air next week on Comcast Channel 35, giving viewers an inside look at the schools a week before they'll be asked to hand them over more cash.

District 62 spokeswoman Mindy Ward bills the short film as a "We are 62" message that "puts faces with the names."

"I don't know if a lot of people know what goes on in the schools," said parent and staff member Maureen Styczen, who already saw the film at a PTO meeting. "Especially if they don't have a student."

The district Nov. 2 will ask taxpayers to shell out 50 cents more per $100 equalized assessed valuation. The money, about $225 more a year for the owner of a $225,000 home, will be plugged into the education fund, which pays for teacher salaries and class supplies.

The video will provide that information, but also will spotlight the faces of the schools: staff members, a retired principal, a parent, District 62 graduates and even current students. Tom Dore, a Chicago Bulls TV announcer and a district parent, will provide the narration.

Among the featured teachers is a music instructor; music, as is often the case in school cost-cutting situations, has been cited as something that could be trimmed in some capacity should the tax-hike effort fail.

Dan Fletcher, a former board member and opponent of the tax hike, isn't worried, though.

"If it (the tax hike) doesn't go through, then maybe - just maybe - they'll start thinking that there needs to be some commitment on their side," he said. "If there's no commitment on their side, it's not going to ever get any better."

Fletcher said repeated union requests for higher salaries are a key part of the problem, and maintains teachers need to step up and freeze their salaries, even for two years, and add more workdays to their contract before he'd vote "yes."

Otherwise, he said, a tax hike will just breed richer teachers.

Officials have trimmed about $5 million from their last two spending plans and say they'll continue to hold back even if they get more tax dollars. But without the extra revenue, officials warn, cuts will be deeper and hurt more. There is no specific list of what will be cut.

The video will air Tuesday and Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. More show times are possible. For a copy of the referendum video, call (847) 299-6834.

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