Round Lake District 116 approves $82 million budget

Round Lake Area Unit District 116 will operate with an $82 million budget for the 2011-12 academic year.

As is typical with school budgets, the lion’s share of District 116’s spending plan will go toward employee salaries and benefits. That amount will be about $52 million of the $82 million.

Board members approved the budget by a 7-0 vote Thursday night. No taxpayers voiced an opinion about the document when given a chance to do so at a required hearing before the board approval.

District 116’s $82 million budget for this year is above the nearly $80 million for 2010-11. Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Bill Johnston said there is some good news in this year’s document.

“We’ve identified some additional revenue sources,” Johnston said.

Namely, said Johnston, an expiring special financing zone in Round Lake Beach will return about $21 million to the district’s tax base annually.

District 116 may receive about $1 million from Round Lake Beach in surplus collections from another of the village’s special taxing areas in February. Such areas are called tax increment financing districts, used to spur development.

Johnston said the 2011-12 budget took into account an average 3 percent increase in administrative salaries, a 6 percent boost in health insurance premiums and a 1 percent hike in dental coverage.

In addition, the spending plan covers a 5 percent increase in general union employee salaries.

District 116 Superintendent Constance Collins will receive a compensation package of $264,219 from the new budget. On top of her $207,000 base salary, she’ll receive extras such as $6,000 for travel and a $22,802 teachers retirement contribution.

Last year, Collins’ total compensation was $255,003. While her base pay remains the same for this year, her health insurance jumped to $20,392 from $14,740 in 2010-11, according to a district salary compensation report.