Dist. 57 ready to pass a balanced budget

For the first time in years, Mount Prospect Elementary District 57 is on the verge of passing a balanced budget.

At this week's committee of the whole meeting, Business Services Director Dale Falk released preliminary figures, which show $25.9 million in revenues offset by $25.4 million in expenditures.

It represents an improvement over last year's figures of $20 million in revenues offset by $22 million in expenditures.

A tentative budget is set for approval on Aug. 16. The final budget is expected to be approved at the board's Sept. 20 meeting.

The board reached the balanced budget goal after implementing a budget deficit reduction plan -- the official term is "BDR" -- that reached into staff and programs to make cuts. The process of determining the cuts involved a committee that included district staff.

School board member Brian McPartlin, for whom a balanced budget has been a longtime goal, all but jumped for joy when Falk reported the preliminary figures.

"I thought I had to go to Disney World to have my dreams come true," he said.

But, comparing the budget to the "little engine that could," McPartlin said, "We have to remain on this track."

Falk noted that the district is taking less of a hit in areas like retirement and special education costs. In addition, he said the district has a stable labor contract.

He said he is "cautiously optimistic. We haven't been here for awhile.

"A balanced budget is a great beginning. But it's just that," he added, noting that the test will be whether those numbers can be reached at the end of the year.

School board Member Richard Benson said, however, that he wanted to look closely at the implementation of BDR, especially the elimination of library aides.

"That has had an impact on kids, albeit indirectly. Yeah, it's nice to have a balanced budget, but it's not the be-all, end-all, at the expense of everything else we do."

He also alluded to the board's decision earlier in the year to add class sections at district schools, an apparent contradiction of BDR policy.

But board member Ann Hull said, "There is a point where you kind of have to look at it as a business."

Hull said, "We still need to be very disciplined," saying that if there is a need for extra expenses, the dollars must be offset somewhere else.