A public hearing will be held on Sept. 17 to review the tentative budget for Orland High School District 230 for Fiscal Year 2027, which was initially presented to the school board Thursday.
The board is expected to vote on the final budget Sept. 17, said Jeff Eagan, assistant superintendent of business services.
District 230 consists of Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Amos Alonzo Stagg High School in Palos Hills and Victor J. Andrew High School in Tinley Park.
The school district’s tentative budget plans for $197.9 million in total revenue and $197.7 million in expenditures for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027.
“This equates to about a $160,000 surplus, when looking at all the operating funds,” Eagan said.
A majority of that projected income is $151.5 million from property taxes, representing about 77% of the district’s total projected revenue.
“We don’t believe we received all of our property taxes that we should have last year, we’re still going through and figuring out based on reporting how much we did receive,” Eagan said.
Delays in last year’s property tax collections resulting from technical difficulties with the tax system upgrade had financial consequences for some school districts, which in Illinois rely heavily on revenue from property taxes to fund themselves. The Illinois Federation of Teachers sued Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas in July over revenue delays to school districts.
The lost property tax income meant District 230 missed opportunities to invest money last year as it had planned, Eagan said. The district applied and was approved for a bridge loan to cover the difference, he said.
The loan, in the amount of $23,221,000, was provided under the Local Taxing District Loan Program, a Cook County program through which the county provides short-term, interest-free loans in the form of tax anticipation warrants to local government bodies, according to school board documents. The goal of the program is to prevent cash flow issues due to property tax delays.
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The loan is interest-free unless the school district fails to pay it off by the maturity date of March 1, 2027, in which case the school district will owe 7% interest annually, according to school board documents.
“I believe that we will receive the appropriate amount this year,” Eagan said. “That’s what we’re planning on.”
About $13.8 million of revenue in the tentative budget is from Evidence-Based Funding, a source of state funding that directs money toward programming for low-income, special education and otherwise disadvantaged students, and $11.8 million is from other state sources.
“We’re still finalizing all the other state and federal grants,” Eagan said.
Just over half of expenditures in the tentative budget are planned for salaries, representing $100.2 million, while purchased services represent $35.2 million and benefits represent $23.7 million. Benefits include health insurance, dental and life insurance and retirement benefits, Eagan said.
The public hearing and approval of the tentative budget will be at a meeting at 6 p.m., Sept. 17 at Amos Alonzo Stagg High School, 8015 West 111th Street, Palos Hills.