DuPage school districts left waiting for state to pay its bills

The state's three-month delay in paying its bills has left area school districts scrambling to cover their own expenses, threatening vital services such as transportation and special education.

The state is more than 12 weeks late in doling out more than $1 billion to Illinois schools, among the more than $4 billion the state owes local governments and contractors, according to Comptroller Daniel Hynes.

"The state's hurting just like everyone else," said Mary Fergus, spokeswoman for the Illinois State Board of Education. "We vouch for the payments and send them in on time, but there's a backlog."

The delay means many suburban districts have gone months without millions of dollars owed by the state and have begun borrowing money from other internal funds to make sure their own bills get paid.

Naperville Unit District 203 Superintendent Alan Leis said the areas in most danger are transportation and special education.

"We're just about $3 million behind in our categoricals, most of that coming from transportation," Leis said Wednesday. "Our transportation fund used to have a nice surplus in it but that's going down quickly. Now we're moving money around just to cover our expenses and keep our relationships with our vendors."

A more grave concern is if the state decides it can't meet its obligations and reduces funding for education. But Leis and others said they remain confident all the money will show up at some point.

"I'm confident that the state will make good, but I hope they do it sooner rather than later," he said.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich proposed short-term borrowing last month to pay the state's bills, but the General Assembly did not take action on the idea and is not scheduled to meet again until January.

Bill Farley, assistant superintendent of business operations in Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200, said his district is owed more than $1.3 million from the state and is losing potential investment revenue.

"This whole situation is really a double-edged sword because it impacts our cash flow and impacts our investment revenue if we can't invest the money in a timely manner," Farley said Wednesday. "It's one thing to be 10 or 15 days late with a payment but 90 days is pretty significant and unheard of."

Senior State Government Editor John Patterson contributed to this report.