An Elmhurst Unit School District 205 official describes the proposed budget for next year as a “break even.”
The tentative 2016-2017 budget projects that spending will be just under collected revenues, but includes no cuts, the board was told Tuesday.
This draft budget predicts the district will collect $114,847,000 in revenues and spend $114,654,000, leaving a surplus of $193,000, said Christopher Whelton, assistant superintendent for finance & operations.
Whelton described a spending plan where 84 percent of revenues come from property taxes, 8 percent from the state, 3 percent from the federal government and 5 percent from various other sources.
Salaries and benefits make up almost 80 percent of the district’s planned expenditures. This includes 20 more certified staff members on the payroll: seven related to enrollment and 13 related to the district’s new instructional coaching initiative for teachers.
Broken down another way, there are roughly 10 new coaches at the elementary level, three at the middle schools, and seven at York High School.
The district also hired one more administrator. Tim Riordan will split his time as the assistant principal for both Hawthorne and Lincoln elementary schools, a newly created position. Hawthorne and Lincoln are the two largest elementary schools in District 205.
Fluctuations in some of the largest pools of funding make it hard for Whelton to predict when these funds will reach the district in the future, he told the board. For example, in the past few years, the district has been collecting both more and less of the money it is entitled to from the state. A missed payment amounts to $1.4 million. Whelton told the board that for 2016-2017 he will assume a full payment collection schedule.
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Property tax collection can also be uneven, making the District sometimes look more flush than it really is. For example, Whelton said, in June the District showed a surplus of $6,381,000 because June collections for property taxes came in at 50% of the extension rather than normal 48%. However, this means the District will get less in 2017. The last three years’ property extensions, or the amount that county clerks deem taxing districts are entitled to, averaged about 3%, but this year’s was about 5% due to new growth in District 205.
Whelton also discussed the need to maintain a healthy fund balance or money in reserve in case of drastic financial changes. Whelton’s proposed budget would end 2017 with 45% of expenditures held. Payment fluctuations from the state and the counties is only one reason for this percentage in reserve. Money on hand would prevent the district from having to borrow to pay short-term bills in case of emergency.
Another concern for school districts in general in Illinois is the looming potential of a property tax freeze that Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed.
There has also been talk of shifting teacher retirement contributions to suburban school districts. Right now, the state pays the employer’s share of pension costs for teachers in every school district but Chicago. Whelton estimates that this change could cost the district up to $4 million per year.
State law requires the board to approve the 2016-2017 budget by the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year, which is Sept. 30.
Carol Morency is a freelance report for Pioneer Press.