Dist. 57 to hold off on tax hike request

Mount Prospect Elementary District 57 leaders say they will probably wait until 2013 before asking voters to approve a tax hike.

The school board had been considering going to the voters as early as next year, but several factors have changed the board's thinking, School Board President Michael Berry said.

First, 2013 is a property-reassessment year in northern Cook County. It makes sense to see what the reassessment does to local property values before asking for an increase, Berry said.

“If the values go down, but we've already passed a referendum, it could mean a loss in revenue,” he said. “We'd be spending all that time and energy on something that ended up not doing what we needed it to.”

In addition, bond debt related to the construction of Lions Park and Fairview schools is expected to be paid off in 2014. Timing a tax increase close to the paying off the debt could make the impact easier on taxpayers, Berry said.

In the meantime, the district will move forward with the resources it has. The school board recently approved a budget for fiscal year 2012 that totals roughly $23 million. The budget is balanced, but getting to that point was not easy, Berry said.

Last spring the district laid off about two dozen employees, a mix of teachers and support staff, to cut costs. Six were eventually hired back, but the district also raised fees on things like bus service and a popular child-care program.

“It was a tall order, and the administration deserves credit for getting it done,” Berry said.

Superintendent Elaine Aumiller said that in addition to staff cuts and higher fees, the district took all money for capital improvements out of the budget.

“That's not normally how you want to operate, but it was necessary this year,” she said.

Berry said the board asked the administration to produce a balanced budget because members were alarmed at the depletion of the district's reserves in prior years.

“We were on a very steep incline,” he said.

It remains to be seen how the board will approach future budgets. Berry said that he, personally, is inclined to dip into reserves rather than enacting another round of cuts.