District 23 asks parents, community for help making cuts

Taxpayers often complain that elected officials play fast and loose with their hard-earned money.

Now, the Prospect Heights Elementary District 23 school board is challenging parents and community members to choose where to spend taxpayer dollars by asking them to cut $1 million from the school district's 2010-11 budget.

District 23, which covers parts of Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights and Wheeling, is facing a revenue shortfall next year because a 0.1 percent Consumer Price Index increase in 2009 is limiting how much school districts can increase their tax levies. State law limits school levy increases to the CPI.

Cutting $1 million in expenses won't solve the district's financial problems, but it's a start, District 23 Superintendent Greg Guarrine said.

"If over time we can look at ways that we can reduce our expenditures beyond what our revenues are bringing in, then we should be in better shape," he said.

Officials are seeking volunteers - including parents, community members, staff and administration - to put together in several groups for the "Cut-a-Million" campaign to help cut costs using this year's expenditures as a model.

"We're going to ask those various groups to put their heads together and come up with some priorities - of areas that they think can be modified, reduced, or (suggest) savings," Guarrine said. "We're not scripting this. We're not telling people we are looking to cut these programs. What we want to do is to have an open and honest dialogue."

Guarrine said these "stakeholder" groups would work with the district's current operating budget of roughly $20 million and be given a list of state mandates that must be funded by school districts yearly.

Each of the groups would then make recommendations to the school board, which will consider them during budget deliberations starting in October, Guarrine said.

"The board is very open to looking at these (suggestions) - and seeing what they can take from this," Guarrine said.