If it’s true that a house divided against itself cannot stand, then officials in Palos School District 118 should prepare for a house in ruins.
District officials and a swarm of community volunteers have spent the last two months aggressively promoting an April referendum measure that calls for a 40-cent property tax increase. They’ve held a dozen informational meetings with residents, gone door-to-door voicing the merits of the increase and initiated a phone chain.
Meanwhile, one school board member has launched a counter-assault to defeat the measure. Gary Wapinski, of Palos Park, has spoken out at school board meetings and written lengthy and detailed letters to local newspapers voicing his contention that the district does not need a tax increase.
“It’s going to be very difficult to overcome our own board member telling everyone we don’t need this,” said Supt. Rosemarie Carroll. “Some people might look at it and say, `If the school board can’t even agree on whether we need this, why should we support it?’ “
It’s not the first time that Wapinski, a certified public accountant, has been at odds with fellow school board members over budgetary matters. Since he was elected three years ago, he has pressed district administrators for more financial accountability. Now, he argues that district officials are misrepresenting budgetary woes and using scare tactics to get the bond issue passed.
“This referendum will severely overtax the taxpayer and, without the proper accounting controls in place, I could not in good conscience ask taxpayers for more money,” he said.
At issue is a fundamental argument over budget extrapolations.
School officials have argued for the last five years that the district needs the infusion of cash to get rid of a $1.2 million yearly deficit and to continue meeting the educational standards that have helped 97 percent of the district’s students meet or exceed state testing averages.
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Without the cash, they say, the district will have to slash teaching positions and cut programs. In fact, administrators have sliced $800,000 out of the budget during the last four years. They’ve gotten rid of two of three media directors, several administrators and a school counselor. They also made cuts to staff-development budgets and reduced funds for everything from weed control to public relations.
“I want the residents to know that we have cut and cut and made honest attempts to keep the spending under control,” Carroll said. “We are not extravagant in our spending.”
Wapinski scoffs at Carroll’s mathematics. He says the district actually will have a shortfall this year of only $132,000. Moreover, he says the district faces annual deficits not because it doesn’t take in enough money, but because it spends more than is budgeted.
“No one in this district keeps track of what is spent, and until we do that, we cannot ask for more money,” he said. “The taxpayers are being told the left pocket is empty but are not being told the right pocket is full.”
School officials say Wapinski is overestimating the tax dollars the district will collect this year. They also argue that the district should stop borrowing money. With $10 million in debt, the district has paid $1.8 million over the last decade in bond and interest payments.
“Some people may get the impression from Mr. Wapinski that this is a Cadillac district.” Carroll said. “But regardless of that impression, people’s expectations for the education we provide have not been lowered. To keep pace with that expectation, we need this education fund increase.”
In December, the school board voted 4-2 to place a proposal for a 40-cent increase in the tax rate for the education fund on the ballot. If approved, the education fund rate would jump from $1.81 per $100 assessed valuation to $2.21. It would be the first increase in the education fund rate in 30 years.
Homeowners in District 118, which covers Palos Park and parts of Palos Heights and Palos Hills, would see their overall school tax bill increase from $3.40 to $3.60 per $100 assessed valuation. Part of the 40-cent increase would be offset by pending decreases in tax collection for bond payments.
The end result: A homeowner with a house valued at $150,000 would see a yearly tax increase of about $95.
Even without Wapinski’s opposition, school officials face a formidable challenge.
More than 87 percent of the residents in the district do not have school-age children; voters soundly rejected–by a 63 percent to 37 percent vote–a November ballot measure that called for a 50-cent increase in the education-fund tax rate; and homeowners will soon begin paying off the $118 million bond construction package approved last year in Consolidated High School District 230.
“We know it’s an uphill battle, but we are determined to pass this referendum,” said Anne Walsh, a retired schoolteacher and former school board member who heads the community group working for the bond issue. “We have been borrowing for over 10 years, and that’s not okay. It’s time we give the district the money it needs to run the necessary programs for our kids.”