Elk Grove Township District 59 approve budget without bonds - for now

Elk Grove Township District 59 approved a $139.7 million budget Monday, but the spending plan could be changed if the school board gets the go-ahead to borrow up to $20 million in bonds.

School board members passed budget without including the bonds because an effort to force a voter referendum on the issue remains undecided. The district wants to issue the taxpayer-funded bonds to help pay for construction projects, including a $17.2 million administration center, and stabilize the budget.

Earlier this month, residents opposed to the bond issue submitted petitions to put the bonds on the March ballot. An Elk Grove Village resident then challenged the validity of the petitions. The Cook County Clerk's Office will review the challenge Wednesday and make a final determination at a later hearing.

School board member Tim Burns tried to abandon plans for issuing the bonds, but his measure failed to get any support from other school board members. He argued the district is being disingenuous by not including the bonds, if school board members actually plan to include them later.

"We're going to make you think they're not there, then slip and jab," Burns told a crowded room of residents.

But administrators and other board members disputed his assessment. They said the bonds have only been removed because it became uncertain whether the district will get the money after the petitions were submitted.

"We're not trying to jab anybody or hurt anybody," school board member Janice Krinsky said.

If the district is able to approve $15 million in bonds, the average taxpayer with a $250,000 home would pay $15 more in property taxes until 2024.

The budget has gotten more scrutiny this year as projections released earlier this summer showed the district could deficit spend $100 million over the next five years, largely depleting its $110 million reserve fund. The district has committed to passing a balanced budget without deficit spending by the budget year beginning in September 2020.

Without the bonds, the district will deficit spend $32.9 million in this year's budget. The figure would be about $19 million with the bonds.