Projects require Dist. 211 to tap into its reserves

Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 administrators Thursday will present school board members with a draft tentative budget that will require the district to use $24.7 million of its reserves to fund new swimming pools and other ongoing capital projects.

Despite the apparent deficit, however, the portion of the budget funding operating expenses is balanced, officials said.

Besides the new pools, other projects contributing to the $18 million deficit in the capital projects fund include media center renovations and planning costs for Schaumburg, Palatine, Fremd and Conant high schools; renovations in the newly acquired Higgins Education Center next to Hoffman Estates High School, to house special and alternative education programs; and improvements to several playing fields.

Superintendent Dan Cates emphasized that the projects address high-priority needs and have only a short period of impact on the budget.

"We believe in the (capital improvement) project strongly," he said.

A $4.5 million deficit in the debt service fund is due in part to a $2 million reduction in the property tax levy. Since 2007, a levy reduction plan has resulted in the district seeking $28.4 million less in property taxes than it could have legally collected.

The levy reductions have been done without detriment to the district's student programs, which remain sound, Cates said.

"We recognize that we're here to serve the community," he added. "We're all partners together."

While no new capital improvement projects are anticipated to begin under the 2015-16 budget, administrators plan to ask school board members to consider buying the Higgins Education Center rather than lease it indefinitely.

Both options become more expensive as time goes by, with an anticipated total lease cost of $1.18 million by the 10th year. It should take only 6½ years to retire the debt on buying the building this year, District 211 Chief Operating Officer Lauren Hummel said.

The school board, which will meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the administration building at 1750 S. Roselle Road in Palatine, must approve a tentative budget to have a working plan in place for the first month of the school year.

State law requires a final budget with balanced operating expenses to be approved by Sept. 30. The board is expected to vote on a final budget Sept. 17.