Glenbard District 87 passes balanced budget

A move to scale back projected capital spending by about $1.5 million in Glenbard High School District 87 has paid off in a balanced budget.

The school board recently passed a $131 million budget with a projected surplus of $250,037 in its operating fund.

Except for uncertainty involving funding from Springfield, the budget process was pretty straightforward, said Chris McClain, assistant superintendent for business services.

"All other items, we have a reasonable handle on right now," he said.

The district took several measures to ensure it could balance its budget for the fourth straight year.

In a news release, the district said $200,000 would be saved as a result of redrawn bus routes to "increase efficiencies."

Fifty-five teachers have retired, allowing the district to replace them with lower-paid instructors. And the release said roughly $200,000 a year will be saved by locking in rates under two-year contracts with gas and electric companies.

However, capital spending contributed the most to the district's fourth consecutive balanced budget, McClain said.

Even with a balanced budget, District 87 may be in for a rough stretch. A district report in June said last year's change in consumer price index, which drives how much additional property tax money the district can receive from year to year, will be a decades-low .1 percent. Districts must limit increases in their property tax levies to 5 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less.