The Valley View School District 365U board voted to approve a $225 million budget for this fiscal year at last week’s meeting.
The budget leaves the district with a $6.6 million deficit, with the district projected to take in a little more than $218 million, according to Gary Grizaffi, assistant superintendent of administrative services.
More Top Picks Apple Watch Series 3
Grizaffi said the district is weathering “a battery of storms” when it comes to finances and cautioned that budget reductions might have to be made late in the school year.
The district will pay $1.3 million to Adventist Bolingbrook and Edward hospitals for property tax refunds, after the two entities were incorrectly taxed.
The state’s proration of aid amounts has also hit the district hard, he said, and the board discussed tax anticipation warrants as a way to keep the district fluid before taxes are collected and distributed in June.
The adopted budget differs from the preliminary draft released in August. It adds a bilingual kindergarten teacher, a classified nurse and a teacher’s aide. Those are needs Grizaffi said that came about as enrollment numbers for this school year solidified.
Budget discussions quickly turned to Illinois Senate Bill 16, which passed last spring and which could come before the House in November, after the election.
If passed by the House and signed into law, it would change the formula by which the state distributes funds to schools.
Grizaffi said there has been no revision to state aid for school districts in 25 years.
“If you can point to anything that hasn’t received a change in 25 years in education, I’d be very surprised,” he said.
While some districts have opposed the change, it would benefit Valley View, Grizaffi said.
“If this bill were to pass, we could receive as much as $8.5 million in additional funding,” he said. “This would be an answer to our issues. We would have a balanced budget with a bit of a surplus.”
Vice President Rick Gougis said that Naperville Community Unit School District 203 receives $80 million more in property taxes annually than Valley View.
Naperville takes in less in federal aid, but even accounting for that, it still receives $30 million more per year than Valley View, Grizaffi said.
Superintendent James Mitchem said the difference in students is 57 kids between the two districts.
“This is really a question of equity in education,” Mitchem said of the legislation.
The Democrats’ plan has come under fire by Republicans, who say the proposed legislation would redistribute what scant funding most suburban schools receive from the state, while asking local property taxpayers to subsidize other districts.
The board went on to implore its teachers, unions and parents to contact their local lawmakers and voice their support for the bill.
Board President Steven Quigley said it was time for the state to fix its funding of education.
“They have passed the buck, year after year, decade after decade,” he said. “It’s ridiculous.”