Crystal lake Dist. 47 faced with possible deficit

The inability of state policymakers to agree on a budget has left a big question mark over the budgets of public school districts across Illinois - and Crystal Lake Elementary School District 47 is no exception.

District 47, like many school districts, is playing it safe for now, budgeting little additional money from the state even though penciled-in increases for education would give most districts a funding bump.

"Until those dollars are in hand, I don't like to project any of that," said Susan Shepard, who started as District 47's chief financial officer on July 1. "This is being as conservative as possible."

For the first time in several years, due in large part to the uncertainty over state funding, District 47 has budgeted a deficit for the 2009-10 fiscal year, which officially began July 1.

The projected deficit of about $2.1 million, out of a total budget of about $84 million, could shrink or disappear if an increase in state aid materializes.

But faced with the prospect that a state in a deep financial crisis may not be able to increase school funding, District 47 officials are trying to watch what they spend.

Employee contracts for this year are already set in stone, and with many increasing faster than the rate of inflation, which limits the district's tax increases, district officials have little flexibility in this year's budget.

District officials say they will not have to take out loans to cover daily expenses because they have a large cash reserve built up during good years.

But District 47 officials may have to contemplate cuts if the economy does not quickly improve.

"We're several years away from any sort of a crisis," school board President Dave Hubbard said. "Even if we have a deficit, we're not looking at major, dramatic cuts."

Like other districts, District 47 may have to delay scheduled maintenance to balance future budgets.

"We're going to look at things that don't directly affect the classroom first," Hubbard said. "What we don't want to do is take from the kids."