The next board meeting is a special meeting (in addition to the regularly scheduled meetings) this Monday, August 31, at 5pm. Time for public comments will be soon after the meeting is called to order. So if you can’t make one, you’ve got a second option. Check out our Board Advocacy Guide if you haven’t spoken at a meeting before and don’t know what to expect, or just for some extra info.
Coming up this Monday-
District 65’s board sees an updated tentative budget for the current school year. This is an information item and a procedural vote, not a decision on spending. But the numbers in it are the most current picture we have, and several of them have moved since the year-end report three weeks ago. The board will hold a public hearing on the budget on September 28. (more detail below).
Other items in the agenda-
The board will vote to approve the superintendent search firm agreement with Alma Advisory Group.
A routine review and vote on recommended changes by IASB to policy language, approval of contracts over $25k, and bills payable.
The agenda also shares new board committee assignments, school liaisons, and School Work Plans by school (item 17 in the agenda links to each school’s work plan).
What the budget materials say-
The district projects it will spend about $5.1 million more than it takes in this year. About $3.6 million of that is a one-time payment closing out Foster School construction. Setting that aside, the operating deficit is about $1.45 million.
The operating fund balance is projected to end the year at $40.8 million, which is 22% of annual spending, or roughly 81 days of cash. The board’s own policy sets a floor of 25%, or 90 days. So the district is projecting it will finish this year about $4.5 million below its own minimum.
The budget report compares the most recent three years of the operating fund balance.
| Year | Operating Fund Balance | Share of Spending (25% is equivalent to 90 days cash) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 (audited) | $49.4 million | 29% |
| FY2026 (unaudited) | $45.9 million | 26% |
| FY2027 (projected) | $40.8 million | 22% (24% excluding Foster close-out) |
Excluding the close-out costs from Foster, the balance has fallen about $5 million, or 10%, in two years. It’s a continued decline that crosses the board policy line this year. The structural deficit is evident in levy increases of 2.9% while inflation’s impact on expenses are growing faster.
As a reminder less than 5% of school districts in Illinois have under 100 days cash according to the Illinois State Board of Education’s Financial Profile.
Five things account for most of the movement from earlier estimates of FY27’s budget:
Foster’s construction closeout landed as a $3.625 million one-time transfer from the Working Cash Fund. The memo says most of it had been anticipated, and it has been represented in various financial models in the SDRP reports.
A $4 million asset sale came out of the budget. The previous estimates assumed the sale of Bessie Rhodes for $4 million, which was presented in tandem with the close-out payment for Foster in financial models. That is not in this budget. Had it stayed, the projected fund balance would be about $44.8 million, or roughly 24%, still under the policy minimum but much closer to it. This single change accounts for most of the gap between the earlier outlook and this one.
Property tax revenue was revised down $2.5 million. The levy is limited by PTELL and driven principally by a 2.9% CPI factor.
Interest income was budgeted conservatively. Roughly $1.6 million across operating funds, reflecting last year’s actual experience rather than the more optimistic prior assumption.
Out-of-district special education tuition was rebuilt from actual student placements. After exceeding budget by about $1.5 million last year, the FY27 estimate is about $1.8 million below FY26 actual spending. This is an item that is likely not to land spot on to the estimate, because placements can change during the year. Special education expenses are legally required to provide a free appropriate public education to all students. Both Dr. Witherspoon and Mr. Miller discussed this at the August 10th board meeting to provide context on the volatility of these expenses to board members. The memo commits to monthly monitoring of these costs to provide more accurate projections.
A more specific number on health and life safety borrowing
The board will vote on approval to submit to ISBE the Health Life Safety Survey. The budget in the board packet includes $22.1 million in anticipated Health Life Safety bond proceeds, against $4.35 million in eligible spending this year. These may be eligible to be levied in taxes without a public referendum.
This is the first figure the district has put on the borrowing. The August memo presenting the 10-Year Health/Life Safety Survey identified $128.8 million in work and named a levy or bond issuance as the funding path, but did not quantify it. The near-term borrowing is far smaller than the ten-year total, which is consistent with the survey work being phased rather than done at once.