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Dist. 211 aims to avoid levy hike

With a transfer of $2 million from existing reserves to fund ongoing debt payments, Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 officials are again aiming to avoid an increase of their annual tax levy on property owners.

But it's still too early to know whether the maneuver approved by the school board last week will help the district avert a levy increase as it did last year, officials say.

Preparing for a new academic and fiscal year this summer, school board members are in the process of signing off on tentative spending plans for the eight funds that make up their budget. Final budget approval is expected in September.

Board member Pete Dombrowski cast the only dissenting vote last week when the school board passed tentative spending plans for six of those eight funds. He questioned why the tentative budget wasn't being looked at and approved as a whole, and also expressed concern that the board could be locking out any flexibility for the remaining educational and retirement funds.

Superintendent Dan Cates said there had been a prior request for the administration to present the projected amounts for each fund as soon as available. But the final budget will be considered as a whole in September.

The board was unanimous in its approval of a $2 million transfer from its working cash fund to help reduce the tax levy, and of a $3 million transfer from working cash for life safety projects.

At its next meeting, set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, the board will consider the transferring another $12.5 million from the educational fund and $1.5 million from the transportation fund to pay for pending capital improvements.

Administrators said the tentative budget currently estimates an average 2.7 percent increase in salaries and benefits for employees.

For various reasons, including lower gasoline and oil costs and an unusually high collection rate of anticipated property taxes, a number of funds ended the 2015-16 school year with surpluses. That included $1.5 million in the operations and maintenance fund and $1 million in the transportation fund.

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