With unplanned surplus, Naperville District 203 plans to reimburse general fees

With an unanticipated surplus in its coffers, Naperville Unit District 203 now also will reimburse families for general fees paid this academic year.

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down in-person school operations last spring, leading to reduced expenses in areas of utilities, transportation, food service and staffing for 2019-20, officials said. The school board last month approved using $10 million of the roughly $14 million surplus to provide property owners with a one-time tax rebate.

Now allocating $1.1 million toward reimbursing district families for 2020-21 general grade level fees is the next step in what school leaders have said is a unique opportunity to offer some financial relief amid the coronavirus crisis. The funds will be repaid in the form of a credit to eligible accounts, Chief Financial Officer Michael Frances said in a memo.

The move was unanimously approved Monday by the school board.

Board President Kristin Fitzgerald joined other board members in praising administrators for their efforts to "reprogram those unexpected, lower-than-usual expenditures into things that have really assisted our taxpayers."

District officials also are exploring other student fees, such as those specific to certain courses, that could be rolled into the reimbursement, Frances said.

Until hybrid instruction began last week, the district has been either entirely remote or in an "enhanced e-learning" stage of its "Return to Learn" plan. The abnormal circumstances required many families to take on additional costs, including child care services and at-home learning spaces, Fitzgerald said.

Administrators are expected to bring back recommendations for the remaining surplus funds, such as creating extra summer programs to help address learning gaps, prepare students for the next grade level and make up for the disruption of in-person instruction this past year, Superintendent Dan Bridges.

Those services would be in addition to a traditional summer school model - offered both in person and online - approved this week by the school board.