Dist. 158 board tries to fix $4 million loss in state aid

The Huntley Unit District 158 school board Thursday showed renewed resolve in tackling a long-festering state aid issue.

The issue, while it involves arcane details of school finance, has been costing the district $1.3 million a year in lost state aid.

Several years ago, an error in the Kane County clerk's office led the state to believe District 158 would have more tax revenue than it actually collected.

As a result, the state gave the district less state aid. And because each year's state aid calculation is based on the amount a district received in the previous year, any underpayment is continued indefinitely - or until the issue is resolved.

While District 158 has been able to enlist local lawmakers in the past, the district has so far been unable to win the backing of the Illinois General Assembly or the Illinois State Board of Education.

Board member Larry Snow pushed for the district to make yet another attempt to correct the issue.

"We can't walk away from $1.3 million lost in state aid a year," Snow said. The board member said that after three years of not receiving the aid, "We're not going to receive $4 million that we're entitled to."

Board Vice President Tony Quagliano proposed a meeting with local legislators to solicit their ideas for how to solve the problem.

But district officials, while agreeing action had to be taken, questioned whether a strategy that had failed in the past would succeed this time around.

"This is a constituent service," Superintendent John Burkey said. "There's going to be nothing in it for any other district."

Snow suggested the district ask the Illinois Education Association - the state's largest teacher's union - and the Large Unit District Association, which represents K-12 districts like Huntley, to help put a full-court press on the state board of education and Illinois legislators.

"You have to convince all those other people that have no vested interest in Huntley," Snow said.

The Illinois Education Association has a stake in the matter because the $1.3 million in lost state aid could pay for higher teacher salaries and benefits in District 158.