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With an unpredictable financial future ahead, Eldorado school board approved the year's budget, tax levy, discussed the county school facilities sales tax and passed a resolution to support the state keeping regional superintendents.
Superintendent Gary Siebert offered and the board approved a budget that involves a lot of wishful thinking. If the state pays all the district is owed from last year and pays all it is owed from this year the district should end the year with $3,435,484 in the education fund. Siebert said that likely will not happen. State aid is being cut by $287,000 or $295,000 and the state has been habitually late in paying for transportation, special education and other categoricals.
Siebert said the district could issue a tax levy to the public raising it just under a five percent increase over last year's levy, but he did not recommend that since there are surpluses in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund and Social Security Fund.
"I'm recommending a budget with a 2-percent increase," Siebert said.
He said if assessed valuation on real estate goes up which it has been doing taxpayers may see no increase at all.
He said taxpayers would likely see taxes lower if voters pass a county sales tax for maintenance of school facilities as Harrisburg has proposed. The tax is a 1 percent -- one cent for every $100 spent except on food, drug or certain automotive and farm-related items.
Noting law prohibits the district from lobbying for the tax that would be added as a ballot referendum, he asked the board to allow him to schedule informational meetings with the public on the issue.
The tax would offset some of the money the district pays in bonds that are currently paid through real estate taxes.
"Whereas our neighbor, Harrisburg, would probably use the money plus sell bonds to build a new school, we would use the money to abate taxes," Siebert said.
He wants to show people at the meeting the kind of savings they can expect by voting for the county sales tax which he said would be about $300 for a $99,000 property.
"If everybody at the meetings says no I'm against this maybe we shouldn't put this on the ballot," Siebert said.
Board members gave support to scheduling the meetings.
As state aid is linked to student attendance the issue of truancy is a drain on district finances. While Harrisburg High School Principal Ryan Hobbs has assembled a team of an Egyptian Health Department worker, social worker, Assistant Principal Beth Tierney and himself to visit homes of the chronically truant to support families in making sure kids get to school, the board also approved the idea of a truant officer.
With an unpredictable financial future ahead, Eldorado school board approved the year's budget, tax levy, discussed the county school facilities sales tax and passed a resolution to support the state keeping regional superintendents.
Superintendent Gary Siebert offered and the board approved a budget that involves a lot of wishful thinking. If the state pays all the district is owed from last year and pays all it is owed from this year the district should end the year with $3,435,484 in the education fund. Siebert said that likely will not happen. State aid is being cut by $287,000 or $295,000 and the state has been habitually late in paying for transportation, special education and other categoricals.
Siebert said the district could issue a tax levy to the public raising it just under a five percent increase over last year's levy, but he did not recommend that since there are surpluses in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund and Social Security Fund.
"I'm recommending a budget with a 2-percent increase," Siebert said.
He said if assessed valuation on real estate goes up which it has been doing taxpayers may see no increase at all.
He said taxpayers would likely see taxes lower if voters pass a county sales tax for maintenance of school facilities as Harrisburg has proposed. The tax is a 1 percent -- one cent for every $100 spent except on food, drug or certain automotive and farm-related items.
Noting law prohibits the district from lobbying for the tax that would be added as a ballot referendum, he asked the board to allow him to schedule informational meetings with the public on the issue.
The tax would offset some of the money the district pays in bonds that are currently paid through real estate taxes.
"Whereas our neighbor, Harrisburg, would probably use the money plus sell bonds to build a new school, we would use the money to abate taxes," Siebert said.
He wants to show people at the meeting the kind of savings they can expect by voting for the county sales tax which he said would be about $300 for a $99,000 property.
"If everybody at the meetings says no I'm against this maybe we shouldn't put this on the ballot," Siebert said.
Board members gave support to scheduling the meetings.
As state aid is linked to student attendance the issue of truancy is a drain on district finances. While Harrisburg High School Principal Ryan Hobbs has assembled a team of an Egyptian Health Department worker, social worker, Assistant Principal Beth Tierney and himself to visit homes of the chronically truant to support families in making sure kids get to school, the board also approved the idea of a truant officer.
Mike Hearn works part-time for Harrisburg schools as a truant officer. Hearn works between the schools, families and the Saline County State's Attorney's office.
"He goes to them, tells them what's going to happen and is a more direct line to the state's attorney," Hobbs said.
In many cases parents feel their hands are tied. Some cannot get their kids to go to school, know they can be charged with permitting truancy and call the police as a last resort.
"They always say, 'Can we call the police?' The police don't want to go. This would be a case where we would call Mr. Hearn," Hobbs said.
Siebert asked the board for approval to work out an agreement between the four districts in the county to share in Hearn's pay to serve each district as truant officer and the board agreed.
Siebert and the board said money should not motivating the board to find a solution to the truancy problem. The most important reason for getting kids to school is to improve them academically and improve their lives. Since Hobbs' truancy team has intervened, one girl who failed all classes last year is now passing all but one class and the difference is she is now attending school regularly, Tierney said.
Siebert said the Regional Office of Education has applied for a truancy grant that could help attendance, but he is pessimistic the Regional Office of Education will continue to exist. Governor Pat Quinn did not include in the state's budget the money paying the salaries of regional superintendents. Since the end of June they have been working without pay and in October the legislature could add that money into the budget.
"I have felt, all along, until just a few days ago, I thought they probably would pay the regional superintendents and keep the offices open," Siebert said.
Siebert said the latest news floating out of Springfield is Quinn negotiated pay raises for AFSCME union jobs and there is now not enough money to pay the raises.
"Now he's threatening to close different parks, prisons and what he's asking now is for legislators to go along with it and use these $11 million to help close the holes," Siebert said.
The board approved Siebert drafting a resolution to support retaining the regional superintendents as a conduit between school districts and the Illinois State Board of Education. Siebert asks those who support the regional superintendents to notify their legislators they wish to see the positions retained.
Dr. Gregory Budzban of Southern Illinois University gave a presentation to the board on the progress of the Algebra Project. The project is a multi-year program involving students now in the junior class that has shown math scores improving in many students. Next year the project will involve a two-week college level math course he hopes to teach free of charge at SIU that will give students one SIU math credit. In order to do so he needs the majority of the 40 students involved in the project to attend, he said.
The board voted to fill Alan Hoskin's seat on the board with Ron Bradley of Raleigh.
"He is a strong-moralled individual and I think he will work really well for our school board," Larry Parks said.
DeNeal receives e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.
