Post by title1parent on Sept 14, 2009 5:21:49 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1768837,2_1_AU14_FUNDING_S1-090914.article
Local educators on financial roller coaster
Springfield's ever-changing budget has local educators on a ride
September 14, 2009
By ERIKA WURST Staff Writer
Sleep wasn't coming easy for Christi Tyler.
From day one as West Aurora's new financial director, Tyler was dealing with district budgets already in the red. Taxpayers, wondering why the referendum they passed in 2007 hadn't gotten the district out of hot water, wanted answers -- and there were no easy ones to give.
The fact is, despite agreeing to tax increases, property values were on the decline. The money West planned to rake in through local taxes wasn't near the amount administrators had expected.
To add fuel to the fire, crucial state funds were decreased when the referendum was passed, which meant West was now experiencing a financial double whammy.
Throughout the district, schools were being closed, programs were being slashed and budget belts were being tightened on a daily basis to accommodate late state payments.
And it wasn't a whole lot better anywhere through the Fox Valley, as administrators braced themselves for a similar uncertain future. School officials from Oswego to St. Charles are quick to call the recent funding crisis the worst they'd ever seen.
"The state budget crisis has been ongoing," Batavia School Superintendent Jack Barshinger said this summer while discussing the district's finances. "This is nothing different than we've seen in the last few years: It just keeps getting worse and worse as the trend continues."
Kristy Tyler at West Aurora, however, was about to get a reprieve. Local lobbyists had hit Springfield last year with their minds set on reversing penalties placed on districts with passed operating rate referendums -- and they won.
When Gov. Pat Quinn signed House Bill 2051 (see sidebar) this summer, he not only pumped $8 million back into the West Aurora School District, he lifted a huge weight off Tyler's shoulders.
At least for a short time.
Tyler, like financial directors across the Fox Valley, is still dealing with the fact that more than $3 million in state funds were never reimbursed last year for programs already put in place.
In the world of education funding, districts, whether they can afford it or not, must dish out millions to pay for state-mandated programs like bilingual and special education -- even if state reimbursement consistently comes late, if ever.
Whether it's district reserves that get dipped into, tax levies or referendum cash that's helping districts get by, one thing is for certain: the kids must get taught, the books must get bought and the show must go on.
The state, however, wasn't going to make it easy for them. If districts thought funding was already tight, in July the state board of education was quick to put things into perspective, slashing the state budget by 2 percent ($146 million) for the 2009-2010 school year.
It was summer, but Illinois' financial cold was causing districts of every size to sneeze. Administrators from Aurora to Sandwich to Geneva were struggling to hire teachers, put together programs and fine-tune their own budgets around the state's ever-changing one.
As property values continued to decline and developmental deals dried up, wealthier districts, like Oswego and St. Charles which relied heavily on local tax dollars to fund education, no longer had that luxury.
"We had three or four years of huge growth in housing," said Oswego School District Director of Communications Kristine Liptrot. "That's fallen off the table. Development fees are way down, interest is way down."
Enrollment, however, is not. Even without new families moving into the Oswego district, administrators said enrollment is up almost 2,000 students from last year.
"Everybody wishes they had that crystal ball to know when things will turn around," Liptrot said. "When people gain confidence, we'll grow like mad again. We have to plan for an uncertain future, and we're doing our best to keep up with it day by day."
Administrators in West Aurora are familiar with the term "uncertain future." And so were parents like Kim Trujillo, who struggled this summer with the fact that because of budget cuts, her son Nico could not go to school: The early childhood program he had qualified for was no longer receiving adequate funding.
Toward the end of last year, with the outcome of House Bill 2051 unknown, administrators prepared for financial devastation by giving more than 150 teachers the untimely ax in March and slashing early childhood programs.
Teachers and taxpayers both were taken by surprise. Despite the fact that West Aurora voters said yes to a operating rate referendum in 2007, decreases in property values made the funds coming less than the state aid penalty West incurred when they passed the referendum to begin with. In other words, the district lost money when voters agreed to higher taxes.
"If the equalized assessed values (EAV), which for 20 years has stayed at 8 to 10 percent, had continued to stay steady, the referendum would have brought in more money," district spokesman Mike Chapin said. "Last year, we had to react to the reality of what revenue was coming in."
That included rolling back capital projects, holding off on purchases, reviewing benefit policies and constantly watching the state's every move.
As grants were being slashed, district administrators spent hours pouring over constantly changing information from the state. One week a program would be cut almost in half. The next week it would be almost fully funded. The roller coaster continued all summer, ending on a high note when West was able to hire back more than 60 staffers right before school started, and Nico was able to reenroll at the Todd Early Childhood Education Center along with hundreds of other at-risk children.
But another blow will hit districts come levy time. If taxpayers don't agree to a tax-hike via referendum, districts are governed by the state's tax cap legislation, which limits annual increases to 5 percent or the consumer price index (CPI), whichever is less. Next year's levy will be limited to the CPI, tagged at just 0.1 percent.
East Aurora School District Superintendent of Finance Jay Augustine said this is the lowest CPI he's ever seen.
"I've never seen it this bad," he said. "To put it into perspective, for the 12 to 13 years I've been doing this, the average (CPI) has been about 2.4 percent."
In Oswego, Liptrot said the drop in EAV and CPI are "killing" the district's budget. On Aurora's East Side, the two factors aren't detrimental -- although they've had plenty of factors that were.
In order to balance the budget as required by the state, East Aurora was forced to slash $7 million in funding over a four-year period.
"We cut 85 positions," Augustine said. "We cut things we didn't want to cut, and we did it for four years in a row."
Last year, when voters decided -- for the first time in almost two decades -- to pass a bond referendum, the district was "at a point where it was bare bones."
"There was no fat in the district. That list of possible reductions was not a doomsday threat," Augustine said.
Because of voter approval, East Aurora is keeping ahead of the financial curve -- for now. Augustine said 4 percent of the referendum's $32 million principal and all of the interest are allotted for following years. These funds, combined with the increase in the district's poverty grant and the $160 per-pupil foundation level increase, allowed the district to forgo any program reductions.
Another reason East has not suffered as much as other districts is because general aid payments, which East heavily relies on, are a top priority of the state and paid on time.
"Education is like corporate life," said Augustine. "You hunker-down and hold on until the state gets healthy again. Until then, we will do what's possible and what is best for the students."
Local educators on financial roller coaster
Springfield's ever-changing budget has local educators on a ride
September 14, 2009
By ERIKA WURST Staff Writer
Sleep wasn't coming easy for Christi Tyler.
From day one as West Aurora's new financial director, Tyler was dealing with district budgets already in the red. Taxpayers, wondering why the referendum they passed in 2007 hadn't gotten the district out of hot water, wanted answers -- and there were no easy ones to give.
The fact is, despite agreeing to tax increases, property values were on the decline. The money West planned to rake in through local taxes wasn't near the amount administrators had expected.
To add fuel to the fire, crucial state funds were decreased when the referendum was passed, which meant West was now experiencing a financial double whammy.
Throughout the district, schools were being closed, programs were being slashed and budget belts were being tightened on a daily basis to accommodate late state payments.
And it wasn't a whole lot better anywhere through the Fox Valley, as administrators braced themselves for a similar uncertain future. School officials from Oswego to St. Charles are quick to call the recent funding crisis the worst they'd ever seen.
"The state budget crisis has been ongoing," Batavia School Superintendent Jack Barshinger said this summer while discussing the district's finances. "This is nothing different than we've seen in the last few years: It just keeps getting worse and worse as the trend continues."
Kristy Tyler at West Aurora, however, was about to get a reprieve. Local lobbyists had hit Springfield last year with their minds set on reversing penalties placed on districts with passed operating rate referendums -- and they won.
When Gov. Pat Quinn signed House Bill 2051 (see sidebar) this summer, he not only pumped $8 million back into the West Aurora School District, he lifted a huge weight off Tyler's shoulders.
At least for a short time.
Tyler, like financial directors across the Fox Valley, is still dealing with the fact that more than $3 million in state funds were never reimbursed last year for programs already put in place.
In the world of education funding, districts, whether they can afford it or not, must dish out millions to pay for state-mandated programs like bilingual and special education -- even if state reimbursement consistently comes late, if ever.
Whether it's district reserves that get dipped into, tax levies or referendum cash that's helping districts get by, one thing is for certain: the kids must get taught, the books must get bought and the show must go on.
The state, however, wasn't going to make it easy for them. If districts thought funding was already tight, in July the state board of education was quick to put things into perspective, slashing the state budget by 2 percent ($146 million) for the 2009-2010 school year.
It was summer, but Illinois' financial cold was causing districts of every size to sneeze. Administrators from Aurora to Sandwich to Geneva were struggling to hire teachers, put together programs and fine-tune their own budgets around the state's ever-changing one.
As property values continued to decline and developmental deals dried up, wealthier districts, like Oswego and St. Charles which relied heavily on local tax dollars to fund education, no longer had that luxury.
"We had three or four years of huge growth in housing," said Oswego School District Director of Communications Kristine Liptrot. "That's fallen off the table. Development fees are way down, interest is way down."
Enrollment, however, is not. Even without new families moving into the Oswego district, administrators said enrollment is up almost 2,000 students from last year.
"Everybody wishes they had that crystal ball to know when things will turn around," Liptrot said. "When people gain confidence, we'll grow like mad again. We have to plan for an uncertain future, and we're doing our best to keep up with it day by day."
Administrators in West Aurora are familiar with the term "uncertain future." And so were parents like Kim Trujillo, who struggled this summer with the fact that because of budget cuts, her son Nico could not go to school: The early childhood program he had qualified for was no longer receiving adequate funding.
Toward the end of last year, with the outcome of House Bill 2051 unknown, administrators prepared for financial devastation by giving more than 150 teachers the untimely ax in March and slashing early childhood programs.
Teachers and taxpayers both were taken by surprise. Despite the fact that West Aurora voters said yes to a operating rate referendum in 2007, decreases in property values made the funds coming less than the state aid penalty West incurred when they passed the referendum to begin with. In other words, the district lost money when voters agreed to higher taxes.
"If the equalized assessed values (EAV), which for 20 years has stayed at 8 to 10 percent, had continued to stay steady, the referendum would have brought in more money," district spokesman Mike Chapin said. "Last year, we had to react to the reality of what revenue was coming in."
That included rolling back capital projects, holding off on purchases, reviewing benefit policies and constantly watching the state's every move.
As grants were being slashed, district administrators spent hours pouring over constantly changing information from the state. One week a program would be cut almost in half. The next week it would be almost fully funded. The roller coaster continued all summer, ending on a high note when West was able to hire back more than 60 staffers right before school started, and Nico was able to reenroll at the Todd Early Childhood Education Center along with hundreds of other at-risk children.
But another blow will hit districts come levy time. If taxpayers don't agree to a tax-hike via referendum, districts are governed by the state's tax cap legislation, which limits annual increases to 5 percent or the consumer price index (CPI), whichever is less. Next year's levy will be limited to the CPI, tagged at just 0.1 percent.
East Aurora School District Superintendent of Finance Jay Augustine said this is the lowest CPI he's ever seen.
"I've never seen it this bad," he said. "To put it into perspective, for the 12 to 13 years I've been doing this, the average (CPI) has been about 2.4 percent."
In Oswego, Liptrot said the drop in EAV and CPI are "killing" the district's budget. On Aurora's East Side, the two factors aren't detrimental -- although they've had plenty of factors that were.
In order to balance the budget as required by the state, East Aurora was forced to slash $7 million in funding over a four-year period.
"We cut 85 positions," Augustine said. "We cut things we didn't want to cut, and we did it for four years in a row."
Last year, when voters decided -- for the first time in almost two decades -- to pass a bond referendum, the district was "at a point where it was bare bones."
"There was no fat in the district. That list of possible reductions was not a doomsday threat," Augustine said.
Because of voter approval, East Aurora is keeping ahead of the financial curve -- for now. Augustine said 4 percent of the referendum's $32 million principal and all of the interest are allotted for following years. These funds, combined with the increase in the district's poverty grant and the $160 per-pupil foundation level increase, allowed the district to forgo any program reductions.
Another reason East has not suffered as much as other districts is because general aid payments, which East heavily relies on, are a top priority of the state and paid on time.
"Education is like corporate life," said Augustine. "You hunker-down and hold on until the state gets healthy again. Until then, we will do what's possible and what is best for the students."