District 59 adopts $93.5 million budget with deficit

The Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59 school board recently approved spending $93.5 million for 2012-2013 academic year.

The budget includes educational, operations and maintenance, capital projects, transportation and retirement funds, and an estimated $1.6 million deficit across all funds.

The deficit is primarily due to the use of working cash to fund an addition at Robert Frost School.

Excluding contingency allocations and the use of fund balances for construction, the 2012-13 budget is balanced, officials said in a news release.

The district is projecting $91.9 million in revenues, which includes a $1.76 million loss in property tax revenue due to property tax refunds issued for reduced assessment appeals.

About 85 percent of the district’s revenue is from local sources, while 10 percent comes from the state and roughly 5 percent is federal sources. Nonlocal resources are more restrictive and less reliable, especially under the current status of state and federal finances, officials said in the release.

“Local dollars provide the most reliable and stable funding sources for our schools,” Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Ruth Gloede said.

The 2012-13 budget includes $5 million in debt retirement payments.

The district continues to have a perfect 4.0 rating on the Illinois State Board of Education’s Financial Profile. District 59 holds an AAA bond rating issued by Standard & Poor’s and is a recipient of the Association of Business Officials International Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting.

The budget can be viewed or downloaded on District 59’s website ccsd59.org.