Arlington Heights District 25 schools will remain on a solid financial foundation into the next century, according to an optimistic, albeit austere, financial projection presented at a recent School Board committee of the whole meeting.
Pete Wilcoxon, assistant superintendent for business, presented a forecast highlighted by modest tax increases, conservative spending and an expected slowdown in pupil population growth over the next few years.
Specifically, Wilcoxon forecast an average annual property tax increase of less than 3 percent during the next four years.
That’s typically welcome news for homeowners in the tax-weary suburbs.
Still, at some point, the board likely will see a marked depletion in its cash reserves, a situation that could result in a plea to taxpayers for new revenue, Wilcoxon said.
That may happen as early as the year 2001, when the cost of an aggressive building improvement effort launched in 1991, and the tab for future technology improvements, begin to pressure the budget, he said.
The board, though, isn’t in any hurry to talk about future referendums. In recent years, the district has managed to keep the wall of financial concerns at least five years away, said Supt. Dorothy Weber.
Over the last four years, the board has managed to abate more than $8 million in property taxes while maintaining a cash reserve fund, Wilcoxon said.
But the budget picture merits careful study going forward, said board member Kenneth Nielsen, who noted, “One day, we will be looking at that wall eye to eye.”
The district’s 1998 operating fund stands at roughly $38.2 million, and is projected to increase to $47 million to 2003, Wilcoxon said.