District 204 officials expect revenues to keep up with $60 million annual rise in expenses by 2026-27
Annual expenses in Indian Prairie Unit District 204 are expected to rise more than $60 million by the 2026-27 school year, but officials believe revenues will keep pace.
Matt Shipley, the district's chief school business official, told school board members an increase in property tax money - which accounts for 77% of the district's total revenue - will mostly offset annual expenditures poised to vault to $440 million in five years.
An increase in state and federal money will help. But because IPSD 204 still lags behind similar districts in state and federal funding, which continues to frustrate district officials, the bulk of the support will come from a robust local tax base.
"Property taxes are the overwhelming majority of our revenues," Shipley said. "It's our most reliable source of funds. We are fortunate that we have a high collection rate on our property taxes. We are going to project that forward over the course of this forecast."
District 204, which Shipley said is now the state's third-largest with more than 26,000 students in Aurora, Bolingbrook, Naperville and Plainfield, will receive $8.5 million in federal COVID relief funding for fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
Beyond COVID relief money, though, Shipley expects overall federal funding to remain flat or decrease until additional data from the 2020 census becomes available.
Expenses for the current fiscal year are $378 million, but that amount is expected to vault to more than $440 million by the 2027 fiscal year. Seventy-six percent of that money is for personnel, including 63% for salaries.
Because of the lack of state and federal funding compared to similar districts, Shipley said District 204 has the lowest operating expenses per pupil among seven other comparable districts. The $12,491 per pupil for the district is more than $2,000 below the state average.
"I do appreciate the comment you made about yours and (Superintendent Adrian) Talley's efforts, along with others, to reach out to our lobbyists," board member Supna Jain said to Shipley, "And speaking and sharing our situation with decision-makers in hopes that they see how the algorithm or the equation is not equitable."