Dist. 158 preserves millions in state aid

It wasn't exactly the United States versus Brazil, but it often seemed that way during Huntley Unit District 158's effort to fix its state aid calculation.

After District 158 received confirmation this week that the state has revised the calculation, the district outfitted state Sen. Pam Althoff, state Rep. Mike Tryon and board Vice President Tony Quagliano with soccer jerseys.

All three were instrumental in pressing the state to change the calculation so the district would not lose $1 million each year for years to come.

"It's been a long, hard battle. It's been a quest to preserve our state aid money," Quagliano said.

Under an agreement with the district reached earlier this month, the Illinois State Board of Education required the district to submit supporting documentation before it would accept the new calculation.

After receiving the documents, the state board sent a letter to the district confirming the new calculation had been accepted.

"They have changed our limiting rate and corrected our state aid calculation for the year," Quagliano said.

District 158 stood to lose millions because its state aid calculation for this year was based on a limiting tax rate submitted before the 2006 tax cap revision. The limiting rate is a factor in determining state aid.

The tax cap law was supposed to ensure that districts that enacted tax increases only once, like District 158 did in 2005, would not be penalized with a reduction in state aid.

If the state had used the original rate, the district would lose $1 million this year.

The district also would have lost $1 million every year for the foreseeable future because each year's state aid calculation uses last year's number as a starting point.

At first, state education officials were reluctant to change the district's calculation.

"This was the first time I ever had somebody interpreting a law that I wrote. And I wasn't happy," Tryon said.

But after repeated meetings in Springfield, Althoff, Tryon and Quagliano were able to convince the state board of education that the intent of the tax cap rewrite was to preserve District 158's state aid.

"People will never know the circuitous route this issue has taken," Quagliano said. "The quest is over."