$900,000 State Funding Shortfall Threatens School District
A Letter from Superintendent Dale Mitchell
I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the school district's financial situation.
As widely reported in the press, the state is far behind in its payments to school districts and other service providers throughout Illinois. District 153 has only received General State Aid (GSA) payments this fiscal year. Less than $6,000 has been received for categorical programs such as special education, Pre-Kindergarten and transportation. To date, the state is about $900,000 behind in its financial obligations to District 153. Moreover, there is a strong possibility that GSA may not be fully funded this year with concerns about significant cuts in funding next year. Because about one-third of our total revenues come from state sources, such a cut would be damaging.
Your school district has demonstrated its fiscal responsibility to this community year after year. Despite uncertain and inadequate support from the state, we have managed to realize balanced budgets or even slight surpluses over the past few years thanks to careful long-range financial planning and close monitoring. We spend less than the state average in per-pupil instructional expenditures and for staff and administrator salaries even as our students continue to succeed at the highest levels. Furthermore, District 153 has not sought more money from taxpayers since 1992.
Over the next few weeks, the Board of Education and district administrators will be weighing various options to deal with these very serious challenges, looking at both increasing revenues and reducing expenditures.
As a start, I have asked the school board to re-visit the district’s policy for curriculum-based field trips starting in the 2010-11 school year. Students who receive free and reduced price lunches are entitled to attend these trips even if they cannot pay the fee. Largely due to the downturn in the economy, the percentage of this student population is increasing and making the cost of these trips to the school district prohibitive. For example, the cost to send our low income 6th-graders to White Pines, one of the school district’s largest trips, will be about $10,000 this year. Other school districts are revising or eliminating such trips.
All of us—parents, staff, administrators and school board members—have worked exceptionally hard over the past few years to create a high-quality educational experience for our community’s children. We have created high standards for student achievement and behavior. We have created systems both to identify students who need additional help or enrichment and to get them the supports they need. We have maintained our wonderful music, arts, and extracurricular activities that are proven to enhance student performance even as those programs have gone by the wayside in other districts.
It is incredibly frustrating that the lack of responsibility at the state level has placed our school district in this challenging position after all our efforts.
I take heart in the fact that this community is filled with parents, teachers, administrators and others who have repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to roll up their sleeves and get to work in support of their public schools. It is this spirit of cooperation and mutual concern for the children of this community that will see us through this crisis.
I will strive to keep you updated on this evolving situation via email, our school district website and various printed materials.
Dr. Dale Mitchell, Superintendent
