By Sam Thomas
BLOOMINGTON- The District 87 school board approved a finalized 2016-17 budget at its meeting Wednesday night.
The education fund shows a structural deficit of nearly $1.6 million and Superintendent Barry Reilly said that’s primarily due to a decline in local revenues. He also said he’d like to see state legislators put their money where their mouth is when it comes to K-12 funding.
“I’d like to see them at the state level make K-12 education the highest priority,” he said. “They give a lot of lip service to it. There’s a lot of touting of how they’re fully funding education to the foundation level. Well, that foundation level is nowhere near where it needs to be.”
Revenue for the district in FY17 is projected to be down two-tenths of a percent compared to last year while expenditures are expected to rise 1.7 percent.
David Wood is Chief Finance and Legal Officer for the district and he said he’s confident that the deficit will shrink by year’s end.
He points to the installation of new HVAC systems across the district that could save as much as $200,000 in energy costs.
“We really think we probably will see some savings,” Wood said. “Will it be $200,000? I don’t know. But it will be something and those are the sorts of cushions we have built [into the budget.]”
The district was successful in lowering a projected $1.5 million deficit in last year’s budget to under $1 million.
Reilly also remarked that the district has instituted a number of cost-saving measures over the years, but they can only cut so deep without “disrupting” education.
“When it comes down to saving money or reducing costs, you’re looking at people,” he said. “We’re a business of people, 80 percent of our budget is in our people. When you have to look to reduce those expenses you’re looking at people and that means programs.”
Reilly added that the district is not yet in a position to make cuts, but the possibly exists down the road for districts across the state.
Sam Thomas can be reached at Sam@WJBC.com.
