By Greg Halbleib
BLOOMINGTON – District 87 Superintendent Barry Reilly says he and the board are being good financial stewards, but he’s counting on state school funding to stabilize to keep the district in good shape.
Reilly said District 87 has managed its finances as well as possible but is limited to what it can do.
“Our local revenues have been growing at a slower rate than other districts around us,” Reilly told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin. “That has a lot to do with residential areas within District 87, and a lot of bodies that are not taxed and a lot of exemptions that are out there.”
Reilly says the district has financial reserves, but they’re being drawn down as state funding remains in flux. He says partnerships with private companies help stretch finances, such as the current project to provide computers for each student and internet access for low-income students.
Reilly says the one-to-one computer project is in place at the junior high and high schools and is reaching younger levels ahead of schedule.
“We just deployed another 120 laptops in various elementary classrooms,” Reilly said. “I’m confident that before this school year rolls out we’ll be one-to-one in grades 3 through 12, which we intended to do in school year 2018-19.”
Reilly says the computer and internet project is being accomplished with no additional cost to parents because of the local partnerships.
