District 214 approves tentative 2016-17 budget

Northwest Suburban High School District 214's school board has approved a tentative budget for the 2016-17 school year.

The $285.8 million budget is down about $20 million from last year due to fund transfers and construction projects held over from the last budget, said Cathy Johnson, associate superintendent for finance and operations.

Those construction projects include work at Wheeling and Elk Grove high schools that will take place during the summer of 2017. The projects were approved a few years ago during a capital projects assessment that included several listening sessions and months of committee work to determine how to use budget surplus funds.

Wheeling is expected to receive a music wing addition, a renovated aquatic facility and an auxiliary gym to allow for additional classrooms and athletic practices, she said.

Work at Elk Grove is to include a theater renovation, and an auxiliary gym, along with additional fine and performing arts storage.

Both projects were put off by the district during the previous budget year while waiting for the outcome of an Illinois Supreme Court decision involving a Crystal Lake high school and football bleachers build without municipal approval, but they are now back on schedule.

As for the rest of the budget, salary and personnel costs take up about 80 percent.

"Every spend is very purposeful," Johnson said. "We always keep our students at the forefront when we make our plans."

It is the 19th year in a row the district has passed a balanced operating budget, officials said.

The tax levy, which is based on a consumer price index increase of 0.7 percent, is going up less than in previous years, when it had averaged around a 2 percent increase.

Ongoing uncertainty in Springfield, including the fact that the most recent budget agreement only goes until January, is always a concern for the district.

"We made the assumption that all things will remain the same throughout the course of the year, but we will have to be very thoughtful and cautious about what we spend and when," Johnson said. "It could shift dramatically at any given moment, so it's something we always keep on the forefront."

The school board will hold a public hearing on the budget during its Sept. 15 meeting before taking a final vote.