D-26 to talk referendum
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com
CARY – District 26 officials will discuss on Monday asking taxpayers for a referendum to alleviate millions of dollars of anticipated debt.
School leaders have spent the past few months exploring ways to reverse nearly a decade of deficit spending and declining revenues. Seeking taxpayer help in the form of a referendum is only the latest avenue to be considered.
“This was not unexpected,” said Chris Jenner, chairman of the finance committee. “It’s just one of [District 26 Superintendent Brian Coleman’s] actions toward trying to resolve our financial situation.”
Officials anticipate a $1.88 million deficit by the end of the school year and a $5 million deficit by the end of 2010-11 school year. These figures are so dire that District 26 board President Dave Ruelle has expressed concern that the state would seize control of the district.
As part of a districtwide debt reduction effort, Coleman has recommended closing Maplewood School at the end of the year. At a mid-October meeting, Coleman told a crowd of parents and teachers that closing this particular school would generate about $818,000 in immediate cost savings and $93,000 in operating costs. This school building also would have the highest potential resale value.
However, the school board wasn’t receptive to the idea and asked for time to consider other options.
In recent weeks, district leaders have floated a number of other ideas to generate revenue, including consolidating with nearby districts such as Crystal Lake District 47, Prairie Grove District 46 and Fox River Grove District 3.
Board members have asked the administration to consider asking the village of Cary to dissolve its tax-increment financing districts to free up funds for the schools. And other suggestions, such as teaching online courses and requesting that the state to waive some educational requirements that could save the district money also have been discussed.
As for a referendum, it’s unclear how board members and taxpayers will respond.
In the spring election, District 26 residents turned down a referendum that asked voters to approve a $17 million bond issue.
The money was slated to help pay for capital improvements and improve the district’s finances. Unofficial results showed that the proposal failed with 1,802 no votes to 941 yes votes.
The public’s attitude toward the last referendum likely will influence the discussion at Monday’s committee meeting and the discussion at the board meeting that will follow.
Jenner expressed hesitance to throw his support behind a referendum during an interview Friday because he said the general inefficiencies of government would mean the district didn’t get all the money that taxpayers would pay through the referendum.
“I would rather see people write their checks directly to District 26 before it goes to Springfield,” Jenner said. “I have trouble asking taxpayers to contribute more money when anything less than about 95 percent of that money is going where it’s supposed to go.”
Ruelle said referendum or not, the district was working to repair its overall financial operations.
“[A referendum] doesn’t do any good if you’re not fixing the underlying causes,” he said. “In the end, we have to change the manner in which we operate.”
The meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday in the band room at Cary Junior High, 2109 Crystal Lake Road.
Nov. 30 is the last day for school districts to decide whether they’ll pursue a referendum on the spring ballot.
Paperwork must filed to the McHenry County Clerk’s office by Dec. 3.
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