Facility improvements for all-day kindergarten classes feature highly in tentative District 62 budget

Facilities for new all-day kindergarten programs and new iPads for students are among the big expenditures in Des Plaines District 62’s proposed $154.5 million budget for the new fiscal year.

The District 62 board is scheduled to review and tentatively approve the budget Monday. That session is set for 7 p.m. at Forest Elementary School, 1375 S. Fifth Ave.

The 2027 fiscal year began July 1. School districts typically approve budgets after the start of a new fiscal year, rather than before.

Spending in the new fiscal year is expected to about $11.3 million less than the $165.8 million budgeted for the previous fiscal year, a roughly 7% drop.

The proposed budget includes about $30 million for construction relating to the implementation this year of all-day kindergarten classes, spokesperson Jennifer Tempest Bova said.

Kindergarten-related construction actually began in 2025 at Iroquois Community School and continued late last year at Central Elementary School.

Work at North Elementary is underway now, too. Five kindergarten classes, two general classrooms, two music rooms and other facilities are being added there.

The expansion at North Elementary is expected to wrap up in October, according to the district’s website. The district’s six other elementary schools are getting upgrades for full-day kindergarten classes, too.

A related project is the construction of inclusive playgrounds for kindergartners. That’s expected to cost nearly $2.2 million this year. Work should be done this fall, Bova said.

The budget also includes about $2.3 million to replace students’ iPads. New tablets should be purchased in spring 2027 and distributed next summer, Bova said.

Revenue from property taxes, fees and other sources should be about $121.3 million this year. That’s up about $10.4 million from the previous fiscal year’s $110.9 million estimate, a roughly 9% change.

The estimated $33.2 million gap between budgeted expenses and revenue will be bridged with cash that was accounted for in the previous fiscal year’s budget, Bova said.

A final vote on the budget is expected Sept. 21.

District 62 has eight elementary schools, two middle schools, one year-round school that serves kindergartners through eighth graders and one school just for preschoolers.

rlissau@dailyherald.com