After cutting staff and programs, increasing class sizes and raising fees, struggling school districts are facing a possible new budget squeeze: another steep drop in state education aid.
The 3 percent funding cut proposed by Gov. Pat Quinn this week may sound small, but it represents hundreds of millions of dollars to districts that depend on state money to balance their budgets.
And it would mean a third year in a row that state spending per student has been cut, frustrating districts trying to make ends meet. If the cuts are approved, the per-pupil figure could plunge to $5,452 next school year, down from $6,119 in budget year 2010.
“We’ve gone in and made cuts every year, and the bottom line is the kids get the short end of the stick,” said longtime Lincoln-Way District 210 Superintendent Lawrence Wyllie.
Frustration is high across the Chicago region, fueled by a state budget crisis that already has hit schools hard.
With a backlog of bills, the state still owes districts $634 million in past state aid payments, according to the latest figures from the Illinois State Board of Education.
And the key pot of money distributed to schools, called general state aid, has been shrinking, from $4.6 billion in the 2010 budget year to $4.28 billion this year.
Under Quinn’s proposal, the number would go down to about $4.1 billion for next school year. All state aid cuts combined add up to more than $300 million, according to the governor’s budget. A slight increase in federal education dollars disbursed by the state offsets the cuts, leading to the 2.9 percent reduction overall.
That’s where the 3 percent figure used by Quinn comes from.
Unclear is how that figure will affect individual school districts, which get state aid money based on a formula used by the state. Local taxpayers cover the majority of school budgets.
Roger Eddy, a former state lawmaker and school superintendent who now heads the Illinois Association of School Boards, said he’s not sure whether some districts will be able to collect enough local dollars to make up for the loss of state money.
In addition, under a law aimed at capping property taxes, school districts have limits on what they can raise from local taxpayers.
“It’s going to devastate school districts,” Eddy said of Quinn’s proposal.
Bill Farley, assistant superintendent for business operations for Wheaton-based Community Unit School District 200 in DuPage County, said that at some point the cuts have to stop.
“The state continues to whittle away at funding, which was lacking from the start, and it puts more and more pressure on the local community to pay for the education of our students,” he said.
Farley’s district already has increased class sizes by one student and refigured teacher pay scales to save money, among other reductions.
“We’ve made the necessary cuts, but it’s still difficult for us,” he said. “At this point, it’s almost a joke. It’s unfortunate the state is where it’s at.”
Not everyone is convinced of the numbers, though.
Ted Dabrowski, vice president of policy at the Illinois Policy Institute, said that if state money for suburban and downstate teacher pensions is added to the equation, education funding would actually rise next school year.
He also said that school districts need to focus more on their spending, including revisiting teacher contracts.
“They do need to open up their contracts and have a good hard look on where the money is going,” Dabrowski said.
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But districts say they’ve already been doing that.
“We have an extremely lean operation relative to our peers, and we have worked very hard to keep the budget cuts away from our students, but the bottom line is that everything touches the classroom,” Plainfield-based School District 202 spokesman Tom Hernandez said.
The district’s operating budget is down $4.8 million from last year, he said, noting that in addition to staffing cuts, every employee’s salary has been frozen at one time or another since 2009.
School board members recently rejected raises for the district’s administrative staff.
The raises, which were included in the budget, would have cost the district about $315,000. The district has looked at other cost-saving measures, from delaying the purchase of new curriculum materials to refinancing bonds to take advantage of lower interest rates, Hernandez said.
“We already operate extremely efficiently,” he said. “There’s not a whole lot else for us to do (to cut costs).
“And yet, we’ll have to,” he added. “If the state reduces our funding by another couple of million dollars, we’ll have to find it somewhere. We don’t know what that will mean yet.”
Two-thirds of school districts are operating with deficit budgets, meaning they’re spending more than they’re taking in, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
Districts can use surpluses to tide them over, but that extra money may dwindle and could eventually dry up. Getting less money from the state doesn’t help the situation, officials say.
One of the largest districts in the state, Township High School District 214, is projecting a $1.1 million reduction in state aid next year.
The Arlington Heights-based school system of 12,300 students has been able to balance its budget each year, but Superintendent David Schuler said it has meant constant cost-cutting at every school and fee hikes for families.
“We have to look at ways to generate revenue,” Schuler said.
The school board is currently considering raising the student registration fees. The district earlier this year also approved a tuition and fee increase for summer school.
“Five years ago, these fees were not as critical,” Schuler said.
The district anticipated hard economic times five years ago and has been in cost-cutting mode ever since.
An annual 2 percent budget reduction in operating costs was implemented for each of the seven school campuses, which affected people, supplies, electricity and gas expenses.
To save on energy costs, building temperatures were modified, computers were programmed for automatic shut-offs and buildings are closed on Fridays in the summer, Schuler said. The base salary structure also has been frozen and the district cashed in on some one-time savings with new bus and phone system contracts.
“We didn’t expect it to be this many years, with no end in sight,” Schuler said.
Wyllie’s south suburban district already has cut a “zero hour” before-school program that allowed students to come in early to take additional classes, among other changes. Wyllie will retire this summer after 24 years as superintendent.
“It’s never been this bad for this long in all my years,” he said.
Tribune reporters Sally Ho, Ashley M. Rueff, John P. Huston and Quan Truong contributed, as did freelance writer Alicia Fabbre.