advertisement

Declining enrollment, higher taxes issue in St. Charles school board race

Enrollment is slowly shrinking in St. Charles Unit District 303, but school board members voted three weeks ago to raise the property tax levy by 2 percent. It's a move that some school board candidates said doesn't make sense, during endorsement interviews and forum appearances.

District officials first noticed a dip in enrollment about five years ago. This fall, a committee of residents formed to study the issue and possible solutions. Ideas ranging from attendance boundary changes to school closures/consolidations and the creation of more grade-level centers might be on the table at some point.

School board candidate Jennifer Reeder said she's frustrated about how the district's financial needs aren't dropping along with enrollment.

“We're being told we're going to have a funding problem; I have issues with that,” Reeder said. “To increase the levy 2 percent and add more to the property taxes when there was a lot of residents that requested that we try to do something different ... they were ignored. The idea that funding needs to go up, we really need to look at the budget and figure out why that is the case.”

Incumbent Judith McConnell said the tax levy continues to rise (despite her recent vote against the increase) because doomsday scenarios are presented as the only possible consequence of not pulling in more money.

“Every single time someone says we have a money problem, someone says we'll have to cut 14 teachers,” McConnell said. “That's not the answer. Cut your $10,000 ice machine. Cut your brand-new boardroom chairs. Cut some money somewhere else. Stop threatening the community.”

Challenger Rick Leidig said the larger community must be engaged on the enrollment issue to find solutions that are agreeable to the majority of residents. He said his initial impression is to not close any schools and be wary of any school mergers in light of the Davis/Richmond situation. Leidig said the transformation of Davis and Richmond elementary schools into grade-level centers involved far too little detail and community engagement.

“What I'm in favor of is getting the community together, finding out what they want to do, and then voting on their behalf,” Leidig said.

Incumbent Nick Manheim said the creation of a residents committee is already going a long way toward soliciting community feedback. Deep study of the turnover in the population in the district's subdivisions must be done before making any decisions, he said.

“When we moved into our neighborhood we were probably the youngest family by 30 years,” Manheim said. “Since then, we've had eight families move in with kids. We must make sure to do our due diligence before making any decisions.”

Challenger Lowell Yarusso said part of that due diligence must include the lessons of prior generations. Enrollment changes are not new to education, he said.

“When the baby boom came to an end, schools across this country were firing teachers left and right and closing buildings willy-nilly,” Yarusso said. “Ten years later, they discovered they needed those buildings back, and they needed the teachers back. Let's figure out where things are going in a rational way, get some data and figure out what's causing the enrollment decline.”

Challenger and former school board member Lori Linkimer said, as a local Realtor, she's witnessed a 10 percent decrease in home sales during the last decade. And that means fewer students in local schools.

Linkimer said closing schools might be on the table, but so should using the emptier buildings for alternative educational programming, grade-level centers and consideration of what grade levels should be considered elementary and middle school years.

In an endorsement interview, she said school finances must be taken in the context of the larger economy. She pointed to a loss of tax dollars from foreclosed property in the district as well as a shrinking share of state funds and fluctuating gas prices as sources of both income and expense stressors.

“I can't just say let's just quit spending so much money; let's say 'no',” Linkimer said. “That's not a sensible way to educate children. It's expensive to educate them. I want to make sure they are educated well and teachers are paid well.”

Incumbent Kathy Hewell said during an endorsement interview that District 303 taxpayers get a “good bang for the buck” especially compared to neighboring districts and the state as a whole.

“We pay a lot of taxes, but we are the lowest operational tax rate in the Tri-Cities,” Hewell said. “We educate our students for less than the state average, and our students achieve far above the state average. We've remained on the financial recognition list at a time of increasing poverty and diversity in our school district. I think that's a school district that our residents support.”

Hewell, during a forum, said the enrollment issue is worth keeping an eye on. However, the situation might not have as large of an impact as first thought. She said most recent feedback from the enrollment committee indicates people are starting to trickle back into the school district, possibly fueling a rebound in school populations.

There are nine candidates running for three seats on the school board. Former school board member Mike Vyzral and challenger Stephen Bruesewitz are also on the ballot. Vyzral could not be reached for comment.

He did not attend the forum or endorsement interview. Bruesewitz is not actively campaigning.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.