D-155 approves balanced budget

CRYSTAL LAKE – District 155 school board members unanimously approved a balanced budget Tuesday for the 2008-09 school year that included about $5 million in new spending.

District 155 is projected to take in about $86.3 million in revenue and plans to spend about $84.8 million, leaving an estimated $1.5 million surplus.

"All funds are in the black with small surpluses," said John Lutsch, assistant superintendent for business with the district.

Despite about 6 percent higher spending than was in the budget for the 2007-08 school year, the end result for the taxpayer will be a slightly lower tax rate, according to district figures.

A combination of factors, including rising revenues from higher property assessments, has allowed D-155 to reduce the district's property tax rate by 2.4 percent, Lutsch said.

The new rate is projected to be about $1.82 per $100 of a property's equalized assessed value, which is one third of the assessed value.

That means the owner of a $220,000 home would pay $1,336 under the new rate – $33 less then the previous year – if the home's assessed value were to remain unchanged, according to budget figures.

The biggest rise in expenditures in the budget – $3.138 million more than last year – will go toward salary raises and new positions, according to budget figures. The district has hired new teachers for several programs, including an expanded engineering curriculum and a new Chinese language curriculum, Lutsch said.

The district also hired about four more teachers due to hire enrollment. Sixty more students enrolled this year for a total of 7,135 students across the district, according to district figures.

Another large spending priority is about $1 million for special education. The district has added about 10 new special education teachers as part of a new co-teaching program, Lutsch said.

The budget also includes $565,000 for technology improvements throughout the district, including replacing computer labs, updating software, buying teacher laptops, and upgrading the district's technology network infrastructure.

District 155 School Board President Ted Wagner said Tuesday that he was happy with this year's budget and thanked Lutsch and other district employees for preparing the budget.

"Our rate is going down. We're balanced," Wagner said. "It's a balanced budget."

District 155 2008-2009, By the Numbers

2008-2009

Revenue: $86.3 million

Expenses: $84.8 million

Surplus (all funds): $1.5 million

Enrollment: 7,135

Tax Rate: 1.8213 percent