Glen Ellyn Elementary District 89 taking closer look at finances

Faced with potential budget deficits in four of the next five years and new costs from increasing enrollment, Glen Ellyn Elementary District 89 may be taking the first steps toward seeking a property tax increase.

The school board recently discussed its fiscal outlook and an informal blueprint aimed at "securing a financial future" for the district.

"This was the first step to put our minds together and present the board with some ideas," retiring Superintendent John Perdue said.

Prime among the recommendations is hiring a consulting firm that could help seek input on a possible tax rate increase.

The proposals also include commissioning studies of enrollment and schools; reconvening a community finance committee of past and new members with backgrounds in business; and hiring financial consultants to, among other things, advise the board on a schedule for renewing bonds, district documents say.

No timeline has been set to implement any of those steps, but Perdue says the board will likely revisit them in the fall.

The last time District 89 voters approved an operating tax rate increase was in November 1986, almost 30 years ago. Most of the five-school district lies south of Roosevelt Road, with two schools in unincorporated areas near Glen Ellyn and no "large-scale businesses" in its tax base, Perdue said.

"This is not a new topic here in District 89," he said.

With two new members elected in April 2015 and a third appointed in September, Perdue also recommends the school board hold a retreat to retrace the district's finances and educational programming.

Looking ahead, the district expects a $316,000 surplus when the current fiscal year ends June 30, says Maureen Jones, assistant superintendent for finance and business operations. Fund balances also should amount to 55 percent of annual operating expenses.

The district plans to dip into reserves to plug a roughly $300,000 deficit for fiscal 2017. But the following year, the district could face a $740,000 hole. By June 2018, Jones also anticipates fund balances falling to 49 percent, just below the board's target.

"The size of these deficits are far past what we could cut without doing quite a bit of disruption to the school system," Perdue said.

That five-year forecast does call for a roughly $82,000 surplus in fiscal year 2020, thanks in part to employees retiring, Jones said.

Perdue is due to retire when his contract expires at the end of this school year after nearly a dozen years leading the district. Emily Tammaru, the assistant superintendent for learning, will take the helm of the district July 1.

During Perdue's tenure, the district borrowed almost $25 million in taxpayer-backed loans that voters approved in 2008. The money financed construction projects over three summers, updated the district's technology infrastructure, modernized buildings and installed air-conditioning in schools.

This year, the district will spend about $2.5 million on principal and interest payments on the debt. The last payment is due Feb. 1, 2023, Jones said.

The district's enrollment dropped sharply in the past dozen years or so, losing "well over 500 students," Perdue said. But in recent years, the district has been on a growth spurt.

About 50 more students enrolled this year, and the district expects to add 50 more next year.

"As enrollment goes up, you have to add staff," Perdue said.

The district's finances, though, have constrained its programming, he said.

"Many (districts) around us are having various instructional coaches working with their teachers and staff," Perdue said. "We've greatly reduced all of that."