Dist. 220 budget is black, but more cuts expected next year

Cutting $2.4 million and freezing administrators' pay has helped balance Barrington Unit District 220's new budget, but looking ahead, the administration is recommending another $2.8 million in cuts from the following year's budget.

Board members Tuesday will be asked to approve a tentative budget for the 2010-2011 school year ahead of a Sept. 7 public hearing and a final approval Sept. 21.

Due to cuts and cost savings implemented months ago, the tentative budget estimates a net surplus of $1.16 million.

Revenues are projected at $121 million for the year and expenditures at 119.9 million.

Much of the caution and conservative approach that's been applied to planning each annual budget is coming from the uncertainty over the timely payments of state aid, District 220 Chief Financial Officer Gary Frisch said.

One limited piece of good news the district received this summer was the late July payment of $2.4 million of the $5.1 million the state still owed it at the end of June.

That still leaves $2.7 million, which will likely not be paid until December now, Frisch said. And that doesn't take into account the new money the state will owe after Sept. 30.

"The state has a $13 billion deficit," Frisch said. "Until that gets resolved, I see this as continuing to be 'the new normal' until that budget gets balanced."

The district's own balanced budget came at the price of eliminating 15.3 teaching positions. The fact that student enrollment has been declining has slightly helped with this necessity, Frisch said.

With administrators recommending $2.8 million in more cuts for 2011-2012, a cooperative effort among different departments and with the board of education will be needed to find the best ways to make that reduction, Frisch added.

How much further declining enrollment will be able to help with those decisions is something that will be looked at closely, he said.

The new tentative budget also includes a recurring fund transfer of $918,000 for the lease of laptop computers and a one-time fund transfer of $966,244 for construction of the new Early Learning Center.

Although approval of a tentative budget is not legally required as it is for the final budget, administrators prefer to have the early consensus of the board, Frisch said.

"We like to have the board's support before we put something on display," he added.