After months of discussion, debate and community input the preliminary budget for Cook County Schools – ISD 166 has finally been set at the April 7, 2016 school board meeting. Superintendent Beth Schwarz reported that the district has had a couple of pleasant financial surprises recently. An unexpected $22,000 impact aid clean up payment was received from the state. In addition $190,000 was received as a payment in lieu of taxes. Last year’s payment was just $70,000 and had been conservatively budgeted for as $92,000 this year.
Reductions for the remainder of this year and next year totaling $850,000 were agreed to by the board. The decreases include: . $375,000 in capital expenditures which still leaves $300,000 for capital projects. . $141,000 in licensed administration personnel and payments for teachers on special assignment. This figure still allows for the hiring of a half time elementary principal. . $81,500 in propane savings and lawn services. . $15,000 from the board declining any pay plus a reduction in conferences and staff development training. . $74,100 in custodial reductions. . $16,000 decrease in transfer to community education for early childhood. . $39,897 savings by combining the positions of community education assistant and district office administrative assistant.
Other reduction items were amended during the meeting. Academic reductions in middle school Spanish, calculus, physical education, environmental science, sixth grade computers and health, special education and one elementary teacher would have totaled $72,000. Technology personnel reductions were initially presented as $44,000. Decreases in funding for athletics and the Arrowhead Center for the Arts (ACA) were listed at $20,000 and $18,000 respectively.
Projected enrollment figures for the next few years were reviewed in connection with teaching staff needs. Presently ISD 166 has a total kindergarten through grade 12 enrollment of 443 students. That figure is projected to steadily decrease to 415 students by the 2019-2020 school year.
The intention is to keep two classes each of kindergarten and grade one with anticipated class sizes of 13 to 14 students over the next four years. Grades two and three would be combined to create three classes with 15 to 18 students each. Grade four would be one section with 23 to 27 students. Grade five is planned for two classes of 17 each during the upcoming school year then moving to one class of 23 to 26 students the following three years.
Grades six to eight are estimated to average 31 to 33 students over the next four years. The high school grades will have likely average enrollments of 41 to 46 students during the same time period.
The total of all items presented for consideration was $896,497 leaving $46,497 to be added back in to the suggested academic and technology reductions. Specifically calculus, Spanish III and retaining a full-time technology coordinator position were to be the main targets for retention. Additional reductions may be made to athletic programs and the ACA to prevent further academic and technology diminutions. The preliminary budget will become final in June.
After deficit spending from the general fund averaged nearly $290,000 the previous two years, the fund is projected to finish in the black by $308,000 in the current year and just over $350,000 next year. The general fund which carried a balance of $467,000 June 30, 2015, is expected to be $572,000 June 30, 2016 and $799,000 June 30, 2017. The total of all funds is projected to have a balance of $750,000 at the end of fiscal year 2016 and is predicted to have a balance of $914,000 June 30, 2017.
Technology Coordinator John Jacobsen spoke during the community comments portion of the meeting regarding the proposal to cut his position in half. He compared the technology situation of the school in 2002 when he was first hired to the present. In 2002 the district had one network, three servers and 225 computer connections. Those figures have increased to six networks, 11 servers and 1,200 connections today.
“Technology is not going away. It’s increasing in numbers and complexity,” said Jacobsen. He added that the school has an investment of $500,000 in technology systems not counting software and leases. The board agreed that attention to technology should be preserved. Board Member Deb White agreed, “Technology is not going to become less important.”
The board also agreed to a preliminary budget for the Sawtooth Mountain Preschool for the upcoming school year. The budget of just over $150,000 includes a transfer of $15,000 from the district general fund. The plan which accommodates up to 54 students shows excess revenue of $7,700 and does not yet include additional hoped for grants. Full tuition has been raised to $235 per student which equates to about $2.93 per hour. Levy and bonding planning
Steve Pumper of PMA Securities was on hand to discuss the upcoming options for the next levy referendum and possible bonding requests to be put to local voters on November 8. He explained that due to the state funding structure and the board approved levy of $300 per pupil unit the actual loss of funding for the upcoming school year is $66,034 without a current levy in place.
Pumper presented five different scenarios for consideration. The first being the same request as last year—asking voters to approve $1,276 per pupil unit which would yield additional money to the district of $582,000 per year. In this scenario the entire tax burden is shouldered by residential and commercial/industrial property taxpayers. Funds collected in this situation are not earmarked for any specific project and can be spent as the school board sees fit.
The remaining four alternatives would ask voters to approve $676 per student unit which would yield $308,000 per year in the same fashion as scenario one. In addition taxpayer approval for bond funding would be sought ranging from $1.5 million to $10 million to be repaid over the next 10 to 20 years. These funds would be dedicated for use for planned specific capital projects. The taxpayer responsibility for repayment of these funds would be spread over the entire tax base including seasonal/recreational properties. Debt service payments for these bonds would range from $199,000 to $457,000 per year.
Currently ISD 166 services debt of $4,658,000 much of which relates back to the 1997 addition of a new gymnasium and classrooms. Debt service payments for the upcoming year will total $621,000 after being offset by approximately $473,000 from taconite funding. Debt service payments will decrease to an average of $560,000 over the following three years when the parking lot abatement bond is paid off. Payments will average $471,000 in fiscal years 2021 to 2025 at which point the district would become debt free if no new debt is added.
Repayment of any new bond could be structured to have lower payments initially while loading most of the principal payments into later years to keep annual payments at a more even level.
Private donations continue to arrive at the district. Recent contributions total $1,488 from 11 different individuals. A district highlight
The spotlight was on former Cook County graduate and current kindergarten teacher Lacey Smith during the district highlight portion of last Thursday’s meeting. Smith, who earned her National Board Certification in 2012, is one of six teachers on the statewide board of the Educational Policy Innovation Center (EPIC).
EPIC formulated a 40-page report during a three-day process this past summer. The statement supports universal pre-kindergarten education as a means of benefiting a higher volume of young students. Their conclusions suggested the universal approach was more effective than programs targeted at specific populations. The report, intended to give teachers a voice in legislation, will be used in collaboration with the National Association for Early Childhood as a guide in lobbying efforts.
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