Huntley District 158 gets a boost, but budget worries remain

Huntley Unit District 158 just received a rare piece of good news from Springfield.

District 158 will get an additional $2 million in state aid under the state education budget passed last week, district officials said.

The news comes as a relief for district officials, who had made deep cuts in maintenance and technology to balance this year's budget.

But the state cut between $500,000 and $600,000 in early childhood, reading and other areas, according to district Comptroller Mark Altmayer.

"We're waiting to hear back from the state on exactly what we're going to receive. It might be less," Altmayer said. "It's still a very positive result."

District officials are not celebrating anytime soon, though. The state still owes District 158 about $1.6 million, officials said.

"There's a real possibility that they'll drop a payment next year, and the whole (increase) will be eaten up," Superintendent John Burkey said.

Still, the additional revenue may enable the district to budget a surplus. The district's tentative budget does not have a surplus, potentially putting the district in a precarious situation if the state fails to make its payments on time, as was the case this year.

The revenue boost may also allow district officials to restore some of the cuts to technology and building maintenance.

"Probably at the end of the day we'll have a little more surplus than we have today," Altmayer said. "There are some things that are going to come back into the budget."

In the coming weeks, the district staff will decide how to allocate the additional state aid as well as $1.6 million in expected federal stimulus funding for special education.

In a reflection of the district's continuing budget concerns, Burkey said Friday he is still recommending the school board spend half of its federal stimulus money on existing expenses, as is permitted.

"Nothing has changed that makes me look at the big picture differently," Burkey said. "I don't want the district to get caught in a year with laying off people."