Oak Park District 97 school board members are closing in on how much money they’ll request from taxpayers in a referendum that will be on the ballot during the April 4 election. The impact on tax bills could be steep.
During a Dec. 6 regular meeting, district officials narrowed down to three possible funding scenarios, all of which, they said, are determined by how large the district would want its fund balance to be five years out.
Board member Graham Brisben said the district’s fund balance is projected to drop below 25 percent of its operating expenses in 2017 — putting D97 in violation of its own financial policy. By 2018, he said, the fund balance is projected to go negative.
“[There would be] nowhere to go from there without something changing,” Brisben said. “Either new revenue or drastic cost reductions.”
The first, and least expensive, referendum scenario calls for increasing the district’s operating levy to $63.3 million, an increase of $10.1 million. That would get the district’s fund balance to a target level of 15 percent of operating expenses — still 10 percent less than the district’s policy of 25 percent. This scenario would entail an additional $562 for a homeowner with a $10,000 annual tax bill.
The second scenario would increase the district’s operating levy to $67 million, an increase of $13.9 million. That would get the district’s fund balance to a target level of 30 percent of operating expenses and would entail an additional $770 for a homeowner with a $10,000 annual tax bill.
The third scenario calls for increasing the district’s operating levy to $69.3 million, an increase of $16 million. That would get the district’s fund balance to a target level of 45 percent of operating expenses. This scenario would entail an additional $895 for a homeowner with a $10,000 annual tax bill.
The school board is also considering whether to authorize a separate facilities referendum that could run in conjunction with, or at a date later than, the April operating funds referendum.
The facilities referendum would fund non-mandatory maintenance, such as fire alarm maintenance and roof repairs, totaling nearly $38 million between 2019 and 2021. It would also fund numerous upgrades and renovations to district buildings, such as the expansions of Lincoln and Longfellow, and the installation of updated classroom technology, totaling nearly $20 million from 2018 to 2021.
District officials explained that a sharp increase in the student population has put pressure on everything from programming needs to personnel to the wear-and-tear on facilities. Since 2010, officials said, the district has been spending at least $2 million below the amount necessary to keep up with inflation and rising enrollment.
Brisben said that the district’s revenue growth has been limited by the state’s “highly regressive” tendency to fund public education through local property taxes and a Cook County law that strictly limits how much districts can tax in order to raise revenue.
He added that the district’s surging enrollment levels further complicates matters. Since the district’s last referendum in 2011, average daily attendance has increased by nearly 9 percent, or 486 kids — 300 more than district officials had projected. Since 2007, district officials said, average daily enrollment has increased nearly 24 percent, or 1,065 students.
“Our revenues have nothing to do with the number of kids we’re serving for the most part,” Brisben said. “So you have a flat-lining revenue situation against a surging enrollment situation.”
The school board will meet on Dec. 19 for another discussion on the referendum scenarios. District officials have until Jan. 17 to approve a referendum question and file it with the Cook County Clerk’s Office.
CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com