D214 prudent with taxpayer money

I read with disappointment Monday’s letter from Roland Ley. I appreciate the opportunity to share facts in response to the inaccuracies and misstatements in Mr. Ley’s letter.

District 214 has received state and national recognition for its prudent financial management practices, from the Lincoln Foundation for Organizational Excellence, the International Association of School Business Officials and the Illinois State Board of Education.

Auditors recommend any business have a minimum 4-6 months of operating cash to cover unanticipated expenses. Currently, the state owes District 214 over $4 million. The district keeps 4-6 months of cash in its reserve fund to pay bills and meet payroll before revenues come. Without this, the district would be forced to take out loans at high interest rates, to cover expenditures.

In 2007, due to delayed state and county payments, District 214 had to cash in all its reserves and was three days away from issuing tax anticipation warrants. It was only by having 4-6 months of operating cash on hand we were able to pay bills and meet payroll without a loan.

District 214 has made over $15 million in cost containments in five years, without a significant erosion to education. The average salary of a District 214 employee is about $65,000, not $120,000 as in Mr. Ley’s letter. Only 2 percent of employees make $120,000 or more. In the past two years, all employees took pay freezes on base salary for at least one year.

Renovations at Hersey last summer included renovating the 43-year-old entrance. Mr. Ley said the district spent $2.5 million on a lobby skylight; in truth, the entire project cost $1.135 million. It updated science labs, replaced field house curtains, upgraded bathrooms to make them wheelchair-accessible, replaced lockers and did irrigation work, in addition to the lobby. The project came in under budget.

The board has approved balanced operating budgets for at least 16 years and has not had an operating tax referendum in over 40 years. The tax rate dropped from 2.2562 in 2001-2002 to 1.5862 this past year.

The board is very proud of the district’s financial management and is committed to remaining prudent stewards of taxpayer money.

Miriam (Mimi) Cooper

District 214 Board of Education