Story posted Wednesday, July 1, 2009
School Dist. 64 Budget Returns To Restraint
By DWIGHT ESAU Journal & Topics Reporter
For the past two years, Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 has been free of property tax revenue caps, allowing it to increase its revenues dramatically.
As a result of the successful April 2007 tax rate referendum, the district was allowed to increase its property tax revenues from about $37 million annually to more than $57 million.
Now, however, as the district gets ready to approve its 2009-10 budget, this little financial honeymoon is mostly over. Tax caps are back, meaning that revenues for the coming fiscal year will drop by about 5%.
Expenses, of course, continue to rise, especially to support additional staffing for the next school year in the areas of literacy instruction and special education.
Also planned are new initiatives in middle school programs, reading curriculum supplies, and higher costs for general and physical education supplies.
The district is still on the plus side of the budget-balancing process, however. On July 13, the board of education will consider approving a tentative 2009-10 budget that projects $63.2 million of expenses and $68.1 million in revenues.
The district has a fund balance (reserve) policy of 33% of expenses.
This means having a reserve of at least one-third of its expenses left over at the end of the next fiscal year on June 30, 2010. The proposed new budget projects a reserve of $30 million in all operating funds on that date, or a fund balance of more than 49%.
"This new budget is one of controlled growth to fulfill referendum initiatives, with a transition back to tax cap restraints," said Bruce Martin, outgoing business manager. He is moving on this week to a high school business management position in DuPage County, and is being replaced today (July 1) by Rebecca Allard.
"The 2006 and 2007 property tax levies were filed according to the higher limiting rate authorized by the successful rate increase referendum," Martin said. "The 2008 levy will be restricted by the tax cap, which was 4.1% as measured by the Consumer Price Index and inflation rates."
Offsetting this to some extent will be federal American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) general state aid payments, which will total about $365,000 in five installments during the coming year, Martin said.
"These five payments will not increase the overall general state aid payments, but rather take the place of them. Overall, payments from both state and federal sources are expected to increase by about 3.5%."
The district also is continuing to catch up with more than $3 million in life safety facility improvements listed in its 10-year upgrade survey. And the coming year's Operations and Maintenance Fund will show a temporary, modest deficit this year because of the $2.1 million needed for the sound abatement work at Washington School now underway. This expense will be reimbursed by federal and state sources through the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) sound abatement program related to O'Hare Airport.
The district expects to receive about $54.9 million from property taxes in 2009-10. This represents more than 80% of its projected budget.
It is tentatively proposing to spend $37.8 million in 2009-10 for teacher and staff salaries, $7 million in personnel benefits, $5 million for purchased services such as transportation and legal and financial services, $3.4 million for supplies and materials, and $4.2 for capital outlay, including debt retirement.
The new budget is scheduled to be formally adopted following a public hearing on Sept. 28.
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