District U-46 cautious on budget's surplus

Despite delayed payments and millions of dollars in reduced funding from the state government, Elgin Area School District U-46 officials are anticipating a balanced budget for the 2011 fiscal year.

In the revised budget for the period from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011, officials say the district anticipates revenues of $458.8 million, while expenditures are expected at $456.7 million.

Although the district is projecting a $2.1 million budget surplus, school board President Ken Kaczynski said that figure could change.

"We need to take caution when we look at a surplus being in this year's budget," Kaczynski said. "It is a very soft number based on what we know about the state's budget."

Superintendent Jose Torres also warned the impact of balancing the budget will be "significant." In a letter to school board members and the U-46 community, Torres wrote that the hundreds of teaching positions eliminated means larger class sizes at all levels, buildings will be cleaned less frequently and customer service will suffer due to a reduction in the number of support personnel.

The school district laid off 1,037 employees in March. Since then, all but 407 of those employees have been reinstated. The salary expenditures are expected to be $224.9 million, down from $241.1 million last year. The district would also spend about $10 million less on employee benefits.

In addition, administrators will take a pay freeze for the second year, and teachers will forgo base and step increases for the first time.

Administrators anticipate General State Aid will be reduced by about $15.2 million over last year, from almost $66 million to about $50.7 million. The district is expecting $6.5 million less in funding for areas such as special education, transportation and early childhood education.

Analyst Dale Burnidge of the district's finance department said the district has previously seen state funding range from $65 million to $70 million per year.

The state government still owes U-46 more than $11 million from last school year. If that money does not arrive, it will be added to the district's existing structural deficit of about $42 million.

" ... Districts cannot rely on IOUs from the state of Illinois in lieu of checks for the upcoming school year," Torres said in the letter.

School officials said the state's cash flow remains a major concern.

The school board will hold a public hearing on the budget Monday, Sept. 13. The final adoption of the budget is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 27.