Money for new playgrounds included in District 63's new $61 million budget
New playgrounds at three of the East Maine District 63 campuses are among the projects included in a freshly approved $61 million annual budget.
The playgrounds are being built at Nelson and Mark Twain elementary schools, both in Niles, and at Melzer Elementary in Morton Grove. Each will cost about $700,000, said Jordi Camps, assistant superintendent of business services and chief financial officer for the Des Plaines-based district.
The school board adopted the budget Thursday night. The 2024 fiscal year began July 1.
Spending is expected to be about $5.2 million greater than the $55.8 million budgeted for the 2023 fiscal year, a roughly 9% increase.
Camps attributed the change to capital projects, staff salary increases, rising insurance costs and other factors.
Revenue from property taxes, fees and other sources should be about $59.3 million this year. That's up about $3.3 million from the previous fiscal year's $56 million estimate, a roughly 6% change.
Income from property taxes, state funding, and bank interest are rising, Camps said.
The playgrounds at Meltzer, Mark Twain and Nelson elementary schools have been designed to accommodate students with physical disabilities, District 63 spokeswoman Janet Spector Bishop said.
Additionally, the ground surface of each has a rubberized material that should be safer for kids, Bishop said.
"(It's also) less costly to maintain over the long term," she said.
A playground built last year at Apollo Elementary in Des Plaines has the same type of surface, Bishop said.
The Melzer and Twain playgrounds should be complete this month, Camps said. The Nelson playground should be complete in early October.
More than 3,500 students are enrolled in District 63. It has seven schools.