Dist. 301 pre-empts late state payment

In the event the state falls behind on yet another payment, Central Unit District 301 prepared Monday night to borrow $3.5 million in short-term loans for the special education and transportation funds.

The district, by a unanimous vote, approved a resolution to borrow the money, also known as a tax anticipation warrant. These warrants are loans the district repays after it collects property tax distributions from Kane County in June.

The resolution gave the district the authority to borrow the money from Old Second Bank, something the district will do if the state doesn’t send a payment by April, Assistant Superintendent Greg Rabenhorst said. Authorities have not yet negotiated an interest rate on the loan.

Monday’s pre-emptive action was key, as the Burlington-based district of 3,400 students has not received a state check for those funds this fiscal year, authorities said. The last time the state sent a check specifically for them was last summer, and even then, the money arrived a year late, Superintendent Todd Stirn said.

“We have to protect the district in case the state doesn’t pay,” Stirn said.

Although $3.5 million is the maximum amount the district can borrow, officials don’t think they’ll need all that money and would ask for it in $250,000 increments, Rabenhorst said.

The district, which in the past did not expect to receive its payment on time and planned accordingly, has not taken out a tax anticipation warrant in three years.