Tighter budgets predicted for Wheeling Dist. 21
Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 officials received an ominous forecast of the district's future finances Thursday night that could mean tighter budgets and possible cuts in years to come.
With an expected decrease in revenue due to a drop in the Consumer Price Index from 4.1 percent to 0.1 percent, the deficit arrives a year earlier and is projected to be three times as much as previously anticipated. The CPI determines the increase in the property tax levy the district can request each year.
A previous projection of a $560,557 deficit in fiscal year 2012, is now expected to be roughly $1.7 million in 2010-2011 school year.
Even with a slight increase in CPI in the following years, expenses will outpace revenues depleting the district's fund balance from a surplus in 2009-2010 to a $25 million deficit in the 2014 fiscal year, said Daniel Schuler, assistant superintendent for planning.
"The CPI that came to bear is something that has not been seen since the '60s," Schuler said. "We are still in a position where we have a surplus at the end of the (2009-2010) operating cycle."
School districts throughout the suburbs are facing severe budget cuts to keep pace with the anticipated CPI decline.
For instance, in Lake Zurich Unit District 95, officials are trying to cut $4 million from next year's budget and even looking for handouts to keep certain programs running. The district recently tried to reopen negotiations of its teachers' contract that runs through the 2011-12 school year, but the union declined.
Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 and Elgin Area School District U-46 are in the same boat, considering cutting teachers and/or support staff next year.
District 21 officials said while staffing will increase next year, they don't know yet the full impact of the projected deficits and declining student enrollment on future staffing needs. The deficit projections right now take into account maintaining current staffing levels, Schuler said.
Officials are optimistic about their financial outlook.
"This one tenth of a percent is an aberration," school board member Rich Rosen said. "You are never going to see it again for the rest of your life. Most school districts are in financial trouble right now. We are in better shape."
Budgets: Other school districts in same spot