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Politics & Government

D200 Staff Looking to Craft Another Tight Budget

Delayed and dwindling state funds impact budgeting process, district transportation costs.

With diminishing revenue from the state, crafting a budget for the next fiscal year will be challenging, District 200 Superintendent Brian Harris told the Board of Education Wednesday.

Harris said estimating revenues is not an easy job, but praised district staff for predicting revenues then holding the budget line in previous years.

Harris told the board he and Bill Farley, superintendent of business operations, are watching economic indicators at the state level closely in preparation for the budgeting process.

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“Revenue from the state continues to be a challenge,” Harris said.

Currently the state owes the district approximately $5 million, much of it in revenue the district was slated to receive in June. He said the late funds have a “huge impact” on the district’s cash flow and requires frugal bookkeeping.  Harris said he’s been told the district will receive some of it before the end of 2011, but added he’s skeptical.

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“Just because they (state legislators) are focusing on giving large tax breaks to keep corporations in Illinois, hopefully we’ll see some of that money before the end of this year,” Harris said.

Harris said the district may have to rely on short-term borrowing to meet expenses, as it has in past years when state funding was not delivered on time.

One area of state funding Harris said may come to an end is funding for transportation. This year the district received $400,000 from the state to partially fund the district’s $7 million transportation costs. In previous years the district received nearly $1 million for transportation, Farley said.

Laying the blame at the feet of Chicago lawmakers, Harris said some legislators are considering zeroing out state funds for buses. He said Chicago Public Schools rely on public buses run through the Chicago Transportation Authority rather than the school buses suburban and downstate districts use.

“The focus tends to be on what the city needs first, so from our perspective that’s something we need to pay attention to,” Harris said.

Losing transportation dollars from state sources could mean a reallocation of some funds normally reserved for the classrooms, Harris said.

If state funds for busing are eliminated, School Board member Barb Intihar asked Harris if they would consider redrawing district boundaries and shift students to different schools closer to their home to cut down on transportation costs.

Harris said he would not rule out redistricting, but added it was not a preferable solution.

“When you change boundaries like that it creates a lot of anxiety for the families in our district,” Harris said.

He said district staff would examine bus routes to make sure they are efficient regardless of the financial situation.

Harris said the amount of grant money available to the district has also diminished over the past few years. The district is slated to receive approximately $4.85 million in grant money for fiscal year 2012, about $200,000 less than the previous year.

District staff are preparing to apply for a number of new grants in 2012, including a grant to fund a new technology program in the district’s middle schools called Project Lead the Way, which will include instruction in engineering and robotics.

One infusion of money for the district will come from the sale of the old Hubble Middle School property. Harris said the proposal will be before the Wheaton City Council at the Jan. 23 meeting.

Harris said they will also be mindful of the budget as the district begins renegotiatiing teacher contracts in the spring. Salaries comprise approximately 80 percent of the district budget.

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