District 94 takes stance on debate over levy amounts

School board members in West Chicago Community High School District 94 rejected a measure on Tuesday that, in effect, could limit the amount of money the district would seek to levy for next year's budget.

Just three months after approving its first surplus budget in years, the school board voted to seek an increase of its $30 million budget for the coming year to not more than 5 percent.

Area municipalities and taxing bodies routinely propose tax levies exceeding the amount needed during the course of the budget process. The final amount is set by the county clerk's office.

But school board President Tony Reyes and board member Gordon Cole argued that District 94 should seek a levy amount lower than the proposed 8 percent increase sought by school officials.

While District 94 wouldn't get the full amount requested by school officials, the levy amount essentially asks for an additional $871,000 for school district coffers.

Reyes and Cole argued that seeking such a high figure sent a poor message to cash-strapped homeowners.

"To pass this levy amount would send a message to the taxpayer that we have a desire to take as much possible from the community," Cole said. "We're asking for this money without any documentation showing what we need the money for."

Board member Rich Nagel argued that school officials could be putting District 94 at a financial disadvantage by having a lower tax levy amount set by the county.

In August, the school board passed its first budget in years to start and hopefully end with a surplus.

From 2002 to 2004, the school district's budget deficit toggled between the extremes of $790,000 and $1.3 million.

In September 2005, when the board passed a budget that was $1.4 million in the red, members pledged to reel in spending in fiscal 2006, which they did by cutting 13 teachers and six assistant coach positions, increasing class sizes but also reducing the deficit.

"What we're asking for are simply numbers," Nagel said. "If we ask for less, we're not going to get the money that's coming to us."