District 57’s finances, busing get low marks

Almost half the Mount Prospect residents who answered a survey aren’t happy with the financial management of District 57.

“It’s an issue,” said Bill Foster, president of School Perceptions, the company that conducted the survey. “But my sense is that the satisfaction for this is dropping all over Illinois and Wisconsin.”

Mount Prospect Elementary School District 57 mailed the survey to about 8,000 residents in January and asked people whether they would accept class sizes larger than 21 to 25 students, and if the district should eliminate programs like art and music to save money. The survey also asked whether fees for textbooks, sports and extracurricular activities should be raised.

The school board heard about the results on Thursday. The survey drew 1,557 responders, including 231 eighth-grade students and 228 District 57 staff members. About half the remaining responders were parents and about half were not parents who live in District 57, Foster said.

Both parents and non-parents said it’s OK for district to increase fees — 59 percent of parents and 68 percent of non-parents. When asked if the district should cut art or music, 80 percent of parents said no along with 62 percent of non-parents.

Both groups gave the highest marks to the district’s teachers, music and orchestra programs. The lowest marks went to the district’s school board and transportation.

“Many people said they don’t use (school buses) and that they’re not reliable,” Foster said. “But some did say it was starting to improve.”

This summer the school board voted to outsource the busing.

A few themes also came out of the thousands of comments people left, Foster said. Those themes included that District 57 should concentrate on math, science and life skills, and that parents were concerned about bullying.

The survey also asked residents to weigh in on a 32-cent tax rate hike that would have the owner of a $300,000 home paying an additional $305 per year in school taxes.

That answer got a resounding “no,” Foster said.

“You’d probably get one-third in favor, two-thirds against if you went to referendum right now,” he said.

District 57 dipped into its reserve account to cover a $1.5 million deficit this school year. Next year’s financial projects look even worse, according to district officials.

Later this month, the school board will discuss a staffing plan for next year, said Superintendent Elaine Aumiller. The board will probably vote on the plan April 7, she said.

The survey’s results will be available on the district’s website in the next few days.