Lemont School Districts Grappling with Budget Cuts, Preparing for Future Reductions

Though numerous cuts have already been made to address lower funding and financial instability in Lemont's two school districts, local officials will have to decide on even more budget reductions in the coming months.

In , where officials have been deficit spending for more than 10 years, the effect has been drastic.

Since depleting its working cash fund in June 2009, District 113A has been reliant on short-term borrowing to cover its operating expenses. In December 2009, the Illinois State Board of Education placed the district on its financial difficulty list.

After the district failed to pass a $6 million referendum in February, the School Board voted in March to cut about $3.56 million from the 2010-11 budget, including 70 employees, all extracurricular activities and the gifted program. Reductions also were made in a number of other areas, including art and music classes.

Across town in , the situation is less dire. Despite adopting deficit budgets in recent years, district officials say they've spent conservatively and maintained a healthy cash reserve, which has allowed them to avoid making any major cuts.

Though District 210 enjoys relative financial stability, Superintendent Sandra Doebert said the administration is concerned about the lack of revenue and has already begun reducing expenditures in numerous areas.

"We will continue to be responsive to our own financial circumstances, as well as those of the federal and state governments," Doebert said. "If their choices are negative for us, then our process becomes more serious."

Lack of Revenue Places Financial Burden on District 113A Parents, Teachers

For District 113A, financial difficulties have already had serious consequences for and the three elementary schools — , and .

With the loss of about 25 percent of staff members this fall, Old Quarry teachers returned to school with class sizes ranging from 35 to 40 students — up about 10 from last year. Algebra teacher Jack Williams, who has been teaching at Old Quarry for 14 years, said the situation has put a great deal of pressure on teachers to keep up with student needs.

"I think time is the biggest thing, because it does take a lot of extra time to plan and prepare for an increased number of students," Williams said. "There are a lot of great teachers left who are doing a nice job with the resources they have, but it is difficult."

Outside of the classroom, District 113A extracurricular programs also experienced a big change.

The band program, which was previously part of the middle-school curriculum, is now a fee-based, after-school activity run by the Lemont Band Boosters. Additionally, the newly-formed Warrior Booster Club kept sports and clubs alive by charging parents between $100 and $350 per child.

Some parents also said they are paying extra so their children don't fall behind in class. Lemont resident Cindy Schuit said she has looked into tutors and other resources for her three children.

"I'm willing to pay more for my kids' education, but it's sad that the entire community can't come together and support our schools," Schuit said.

School Funding, or Lack Thereof

The situation in District 113A has become all too common across Illinois, a state that has fallen several months behind on school funding. As of November, the state owes District 113A around $800,000 and Lemont High School District 210 close to $600,000.

The Consumer Price Index has created additional problems for school districts this year. Under the Property Tax Exemption Limitation Law — more commonly known as the tax cap — districts can only increase their tax rate by the lesser figure of five percent or the rate of inflation, as determined by the index. Since the PTELL rate was 0.1 this year, districts could only levy 0.1 percent more than they did last year, officials said.

Funding from property taxes also has become a concern, as it accounts for roughly 81 percent of funding in both districts. The last round of Cook County tax bills, which were mailed out Nov. 10, arrived about a month later than last year, meaning districts just recently received the first payments.

"It's very, very difficult when you just can't seem to get revenue in," District 113A Interim Treasurer Jay Tovian said. "It's creating a serious problem for our district as far as our cash flow needs."

Since last year, District 113A officials have issued $15.9 million in tax anticipation warrants to cover its operational expenses. With the failure of another referendum in November that would have issued $8 million in working cash bonds, District 113A will move forward with another round of TAWs. However, the district has yet to find a bank willing to buy them, District 113A officials said.

"In this economy and with this reputation that our state has for borrowing and funding, it never makes it easy," District 113A Superintendent Tim Ricker said. "The key is to look at opportunities to get the best price because we are trying to save on fees (related to borrowing)."

Conservative Spending Keeps LHS Afloat – For Now

In Lemont High School, officials say the effect of deficit spending and decreasing revenue has been minimal due to conservative spending practices and healthy reserves. 

For fiscal year 2010, district officials approved an operational budget of $20.4 million with a deficit of about $319,000. However, the school finished the 2009-10 school year in the black.

"Last year, we budgeted to use part of our reserve funds, but there were actions made throughout the year to reduce expenditures," Doebert said.

Items cut from the budget included drivers education summer programs, field trips and four faculty members. The school also reduced departmental budgets by 5 percent, increased student fees and the cost of lunch, and implemented administrative salary freezes.

Though projected expenditures decreased slightly from last year, revenue is only expected to be about $19.2 million, leaving the school with a $1.15 million shortfall for the current fiscal year.

To bridge the gap, the district has planned to use some of its reserve funds. It also will continue many of its adopted reductions from last year, cut an additional 5 percent from departmental budgets and freeze textbook purchases.

At the school board's Nov. 8 meeting, financial advisers reported the district is in good financial shape thanks to budget reductions and should have about $18 million in its operating fund at the end of 2011.

"We're being responsible stewards," Doebert said. "We're carefully monitoring the situation and preparing for the worst-case scenario."

Looking Ahead

Doebert said District 210 officials are evaluating potential future reductions, but plan to use cash reserves as long as possible.

"Every school district has a responsibility to taxpayers in two ways: live within our means and don't tax too much," she said. "We're trying to do both. We have cash reserves, so it would be inappropriate to ask taxpayers for more money."

Although Doebert did not rule out the possibility of teacher layoffs in the future, she said the district would likely cut non-mandated programs first if more substantial cuts become necessary.

For District 113A, a revenue shortage could result in more cuts in the near future — despite the fact that the district is operating on a balanced budget for the first time in more than 10 years. According to the financial plan submitted to the state, the school board could consider another $670,000 in budget reductions in the winter or spring of 2011, including:

• Transportation services ($60,000)
• Administration ($100,000)
• Support staff ($60,000)
• Programs, such as non-mandated art and music ($100,000)
• Closing Central School ($350,000)

Despite possible cuts, Ricker has promised to pass a balanced budget for the next three years. At the School Board's Nov. 8 meeting, officials also indicated they would consider another referendum for the April ballot.

"Absent an operating fund referendum, things aren't going to change much at all," said Lisa Wright, president of the District 113A Board of Education. "I don't believe this is what the community wants. I believe they can afford more."

Should District 113A continue to struggle to make ends meet, it is possible the state could step in with a financial oversight committee, state officials said.

"We're continuing to monitor (District 113A) to see if they follow their financial plan," said Deb Vespa, ISBE division administrator for school business services. "If conditions continue to deteriorate, yes (a financial oversight panel) is a possible outcome."

Wright said the school board will continue to follow its financial plan, cutting expenditures if necessary and looking for ways to rebuild its working cash fund. However, the district needs the support of the Lemont community to restore schools to what they once were, she said.

"We need to move forward as a board and as a community," Wright said. "There seems to be a perception that we need new board members or a new administration, but that doesn't change the reality that we need a source of revenue.

"We need to bring in more money, and we need to bring class sizes down — those are our priorities," she said. "Only then can we start to think about bringing back everything else."