Local school officials, widely thwarted at the polls Tuesday, said the burden now falls on Springfield to find solutions for fast-deteriorating school budgets.
And although the state’s fiscal crisis will make additional school aid difficult to find, advocates hope that a Democratic governor and legislature–prodded by widespread school budget deficits–will finally consider a funding formula that reduces reliance on property taxes.
“It’s the old story of misery loves company,” State Supt. of Education Robert Schiller said. “Oftentimes, the only time to reach a state solution is when there is an overwhelming number of local districts similarly impacted.”
Statewide, voters turned down 48 of 61 school tax-rate increases Tuesday, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
The 21 percent success rate fell well below a typical election, in which roughly a third of school tax requests are approved, Schiller said.
School officials put the blame on a sluggish economy that makes voters less inclined to raise their own taxes.
“People are fed up with taxes and one of the places people can vote `no’ is on a referendum for schools,” said Barbara Banker, director of community services in Woodstock District 200, which saw its attempt at a tax-rate increase defeated.
Many local school leaders questioned how newly elected governor Rod Blagojevich and the legislature will react, especially heading into what looks like another tough state budget.
“When they are out stumping, everybody says education is a top priority,” said Ben Schwarm of the Illinois Association of School Boards. “I think we will have legislators wanting to solve this funding crisis, but immediately they have to look at the budget as a whole.”
Some districts may be running out of time.
Like many of the systems that asked voters for tax increases, Elgin Unit District 46 is already operating at a deficit. On Tuesday, nearly 60 percent of District 46 voters rejected an effort to increase taxes for the second-largest district in the state, according to unofficial returns.
Along with the fiscal restraint voters showed statewide, District 46 may have suffered from confusion, or even a bit of disbelief, about how quickly things went bad.
Earlier this year, school officials released figures projecting a surplus. But that quickly changed to a $7.5 million deficit, and now administrators are predicting a $16.5 million shortfall, due in part to growing enrollment and shrinking state aid.
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Still, Ken Kaczynski, a chairman of the group organized in support of the proposal, said he believes the troubled economy is more to blame, especially because the returns in District 46 so closely mirrored what was going on across the state.
“I don’t think (the budgeting problems) helped us, but I don’t think it caused a huge backlash against us,” he said.
As enrollment continues to swell, Kaczynski said he believes the problems are not going to be erased and that the district will have to go to voters again next election.
District 46 is not the only place where school supporters are already planning the next referendum.
After its tax-rate measure was rejected by more than 60 percent of voters Tuesday, Queen Bee District 16 in Glendale Heights plans to go back to the voters.
Officials had hoped that landing on the state’s financial watch list would convince voters that their situation was dire, having run a deficit for more than five years and depleted all cash reserves.
But voters were not swayed, and now officials say they will be forced to cut another $1 million in spending by next spring, which would eliminate 25 to 30 jobs across all programs.
In some cases, going back to voters more than once paid off, averting financial trouble in districts threatening to make more cuts.
Voters in both Grayslake School District 127 and Mundelein School District 75 approved tax-increase requests on the third try, preventing cuts that threatened to increase class sizes in the districts and to eliminate all athletic and extracurricular activities in Grayslake.
“They say it takes an average of three to four times to pass a tax referendum,” said District 75 Supt. Ray Partridge.
Partridge said simple things, like accepting paper donations from parents at the district’s four cash-strapped schools, helped to drive the point home.
Some other districts have cause to celebrate, as well. Tiny Hazel Crest Elementary School District 152 1/2, which is looking to borrow money from the state to continue operating this year, was successful in its tax-rate increase attempt.
In addition, south suburban districts such as Homewood-Flossmoor High School District 233, Community High School District 218, Evergreen Park High School District 231 and Riverdale Elementary School District 133 also passed their proposals.