District 54 releases tentative 2018-19 budget

The District 54 School Board released a tentative version of its 2018-19 budget at its June 21, 2018, meeting. District 54 expects to spend $279,305,347 during the 2018-19 budget year and receive $267,251,916 in revenues.

District 54 developed the 2018-19 tentative budget at this time based on the following parameters:

Revenues

• Property taxes for levy years 2017-2018 are based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which was 2.1 percent for the 2017 levy and 2.5 percent for the 2018 levy.

• Federal aid and state aid are expected to increase slightly from the 2017-18 revenue.

• Interest income is projected to increase from the previous year because of the federal rate increases.

• Local revenues will remain consistent due to the fee structure approved by the board, which is consistent with the prior year.

Expenditures

• Salaries for 2018-2019 are based on retirement projections of 15 employees retiring at the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year, and the effective raise to employees of step and lane changes.

• Benefit costs are projected based on 2017-18 actual expected costs and an increase expected in 2018-19 of approximately 3 percent.

• There will continue to be a freeze on overall cumulative spending in supplies, purchase services, and capital outlay. The only exception is in the Operations and Maintenance Fund, where cost of service increases cannot be controlled, and in the Education Fund for planned textbook or technology adoptions. In addition, in 2018-19 a large addition to budgeted expenditures was due to the additional expenditures for 21st century learning modifications and for planned building additions.

• Tuition costs are budgeted the same as 2017-2018, but are highly subject to fluctuation depending on what special education services need to be outsourced.

• District 54 will issue no new debt and has been debt free since Dec. 1, 2011.

The tentative budget will be available at the District Office from July 2, 2018, through August 9, 2018. On August 9, 2018, a public hearing on the budget will be held at 7 p.m. in the boardroom of the Rafferty Administration Center, 524 E. Schaumburg Road in Schaumburg (prior to the School Board meeting that evening). The School Board is expected to adopt a budget at its August 9, 2018 meeting.

Individual Fund Summary

Fund Revenues Expenditures

Education 229,328,152 233,486,506

Operations and Maintenance 19,203,534 27,357,976

Bond and Interest 20,000 0

Transportation 11,006,383 11,348,161

IMRF/Social Security/Medicare 7,063,369 7,061,081

Working Cash 577,239 0

Fire Prevention/Life Safety 53,239 51,623

To view the detailed 2018-19 tentative budget, visit the District 54 Board of Education website at http://sd54.org and click on the budget link in the June 21 Board Brief.