Gurnee schools vote to ask for big loan
Gurnee-based Woodland Elementary District 50 wants to borrow about $9.4 million that officials say would be used to help cover capital expenditures and allow for a reduced tax rate.
Woodland board members voted 6-0 at a Thursday night meeting in favor of a resolution declaring the intent to get the $9.4 million through the issuance of working-cash bonds. However, taxpayers can have a say on whether the loan happens.
Although Woodland doesn't need voter permission to borrow the $9.4 million, state law allows taxpayers to force a ballot question if they gain signatures from at least 10 percent of registered district voters within 30 days from Thursday's meeting.
District 50 plans to refinance debt as part of an effort to reduce its tax rate for the bond-and-interest fund. Associate Superintendent Robert Leonard said the refinancing, in combination with the working-cash loan, would allow Woodland to cut its request by about $2 million annually from 2011 to 2014.
By reducing the bond-and-interest fund levy and obtaining the loan, the district estimates a $100 saving for an owner of a $300,000 home on the next four tax bills, Leonard told board members.
Capital expenditures such as bus, copier and computer leases would be paid for out of the $9.4 million. The Woodland board would vote to authorize a bond sale Jan. 27 if the proposal isn't forced to a referendum.
“We've identified a number of expenditures we would use these funds for,” Leonard said.
Leonard also said Woodland expects a reduction of about $11 million in state payments, and that the state is tardy on about $2.8 million in payments it owes District 50.
Working-cash bond efforts by schools have been known to encounter taxpayer resistance.
Most recently, residents who forced the issue onto the Nov. 2 ballot at Palatine Township Elementary District 15 rejected a plan to borrow $27 million for a working cash fund and building improvements.
District 15 residents collected more than 6,300 signatures on a petition within the 30-day limit after the school board last March announced its intention to issue the working-cash bonds.
Wauconda Unit District 118 was challenged after it wanted to sell $16.9 million in bond in 2009, but residents who wanted a referendum question on the ballot did not obtain enough valid signatures on a petition.