District 113A: Failed Referendum Would Likely Force Closing of Central School

Administrators in will begin working on plans to close next year as they prepare for the possibility of a failed referendum in April.

During Monday's regular meeting of the District 113A Board of Education, board members were presented options for facility use and reorganization, which will in large part be determined by the outcome of the proposed $20 million working cash bond referendum on the April 5 ballot. Should the referendum fail, the district would need to make cost reductions of at least $670,000, per the financial plan approved by the Illinois State Board of Education.

"We need to have parallel planning in place for whether the referendum passes or fails," District 113A Superintendent Tim Ricker said.

With a successful referendum, the district would set aside approximately $8 million for its working cash fund to use toward repayment of outstanding TAWs and other operational expenses. The board would be able to use an estimated $2.4 million each year over five years to begin restoring programs and teachers, Ricker said.

Along with Assistant Superintendent Mary Gricus and Central School Principal Gina Rodewald, Ricker presented findings on the current enrollment and building capacities at each of the district's four schools, as well as projections for the next five years. Based on their findings, the district must reorganize its buildings or boundaries in some capacity in order to maximize use, regardless of the referendum outcome.

Should the referendum fail, the district would need to either close Central School for the 2011-12 school year—giving them an expenditure reduction of approximately $356,747—or make additional staff reductions.

In an informal straw poll, the majority of the School Board agreed they would have no other option but to close Central School if the referendum fails again.

"We can't afford to keep Central open," Board Vice President Kevin Doherty said. "I'm not in favor of closing it, but it's our only option."

Board President Lisa Wright and Board Secretary Andreas Taylor agreed, adding that eliminating more teachers would go against the board's long-term goal to reduce class sizes.

"I know a lot of people like Central, but we have space in other schools and this is a significant savings that doesn't get rid of more teachers," Taylor said. "I'd rather have a more crowded building than fewer teachers."

Board Member Karen Siston said she didn't know whether closing Central School would be the best option, considering the district spent more than $1.5 million to improve the building. Board Member Janet Hughes was the lone no vote, saying the board needed to explore other options, such as administrative reductions.

"I think it's impractical to think we can add unlimited amounts of students to classrooms," Hughes said. "I don't agree with the idea of closing Central School."

Without the referendum, Ricker said the district would likely need to eliminate six or more staff members to keep Central School open. Should the building close, it would only result in the loss of a secretary, nurse and administrator, since the other positions would be absorbed into the other schools.

Administrators were asking for immediate direction from the board so they could put together a preliminary staffing plan for their budget planning meetings next month, Ricker said.

Board Member John Wood expressed the sentiment of nearly every board member Monday (with the exception of Sue Murphy, who was absent), saying that closing Central would not be his first choice, but it might be the only way to save teachers if the community votes against yet another referendum.

"People are here in this community because we did things right and we are doing things right," he said. "What we don't have right now is the revenue source to continue that ... We need to increase revenue if we want to get back to where we were."

Successful Referendum

If voters approve the proposed $20 million referendum, District 113A would be required to submit an amended financial plan to ISBE reflecting the revenue increase. Though Central School would remain open, the district would likely reorganize in order to maximize use of each building.

The first option would be to leave the buildings as they are, but redraw boundaries for Central School and in order to balance enrollment and class size.

The second option would be to reorganize grade levels at the district's three elementary schools, while keeping things the same at :

• Central School: Early Childhood and Grades K-1  (498 students)
• : Grades 2-3 (536 students)
• River Valley School: Grades 4-5 (514 students)
• Old Quarry Middle School: Grades 6-8 (872 students)

Unsuccessful Referendum

Should the referendum fail, the ISBE-approved financial plan calls for at least $670,000 in reductions for the 2011-2012 budget. By closing Central School, District 113A would save a total of $356,747  in the following areas:

• Heat/AC: $78,000 
• Water: $25,000 
• Secretary (through retirement): $65,670
• Nurse: $56,793
• Administrator (through retirement): $131,284
• Services (copy machines, Internet/cable, food service): TBD

In terms of reorganization, the district would again have two options. In the first option, the buildings would remain at status quo. However, the total population at the River Valley/Oakwood campus would exceed 1,500, which is greater than the population of Lemont High School:

• Oakwood School: Early Childhood, Grades K-2 (750 students)
• River Valley School: Grades 3-5 (798 students)
• Old Quarry Middle School: Grades 6-8 (872 students)

The second option would be to reorganize the schools so that fifth-graders are sent to Old Quarry, essentially creating two schools in one building:

• Oakwood School: Early Childhood, Grades K-2 (750 students)
• River Valley School: Grades 3-4 (537 students)
• Old Quarry Middle School: Grades 5-6 (551 students) and Grades 7-8 (582 students)