Prospect of more cuts looms for struggling schools

Feb 27, 2010 — The Pantagraph

Phyllis Coulter and Patti Welander

Feb. 27, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- BLOOMINGTON -- Central Illinois school districts already struggling with budget cuts say even more painful cuts are coming in the wake of the preliminary state budget measures proposed by Gov. Pat Quinn.

"What I've been doing this morning is telling people they don't have jobs next year," Superintendent John Capasso of the Fairbury-based Prairie Central school district said Thursday.

His district already has plans to trim $2.7 million from its $22 million budget over the next three years, he said, and losing more state funding makes matters worse.

"There is a cut-your-way-out-of-it theme," Capasso said. "That's profoundly unrealistic and not prudent."

Capasso's comments came a day after Quinn's budget office laid out a scenario that would cut $2 billion from the state budget that would take effect July 1, including about $1.5 billion from the state's payments to schools and universities.

Even if a proposed tax increase were to bring in $3 billion to $5 billion, that still would only dent a budget deficit that some are pegging at as much as $13 billion.

The general state aid payments of $6,119 per student have been a dependable part of state funding even when other state aid payments have been delayed, but now they may be cut by $450 per student to $750 per student, officials say.

The uncertainty of state funding makes budgeting all the harder for school districts.

"I wish they would tell us what they are going to give us and we will work to deal with that," said Superintendent Brad Hutchison of the Stanford-based Olympia school district, who is looking at a 7 percent budget cut that could go higher.

In Unit 5, which already has plans to cut its $93 million education fund budget by $7.5 million, the general aid cut could mean up to $6 million, said Superintendent Gary Niehaus.

"In our district, every drop of $100 in the foundation level is a loss of $1.2 million in state aid for us," said Martin Getty, interim chief financial officer for the Normal-based district that has more than 12,800 students.

In Bloomington's District 87, a $1.8 million deficit is projected this fiscal year in the $48 million education fund budget, said David Wood, the district's chief financial officer. The school board approved $1.3 million in budget cuts Wednesday.

The district previously projected a $3.5 million deficit in the education fund for 2010-11. "It will probably get worse," Wood said.

Randy Vincent, superintendent of Minonk-based Fieldcrest school district, said the district and its taxpayers have done everything locally they can do in the last five years to make up for lost state funding, including passing a property tax increase referendum.

Those efforts have given the district reserves to draw upon for this year, but the future is uncertain.

"I'm not optimistic for the following year," said Vincent.

Ridgeview Superintendent Larry Dodds said his Colfax-based district asked voters for and got a property tax increase because "we didn't want to rely on general state." Still, the district expects to cut $400,000 from next year's budget.

He said the state could owe Ridgeview $500,000 to $800,000 at the end of the fiscal year in June. "If they pay, OK, but if they don't, it will be a different situation," Dodds said.

Clinton school Superintendent Jeff Holmes previously warned the school board that the equivalent of 7.5 positions may be cut from district staff. The district gets about $1.2 million in general state aid and could lose $120,000 if the state cuts that funding by 10 percent.

"With this news, the elimination of those positions is now a certainty," Holmes said.

Kevin Barlow contributed to this report.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0166-42423552