FOREST LEAVES Ñ Sept. 14, 2005
BY HOLLY M. ANDERSON
STAFF WRITER
River Forest Elementary School District 90 estimates it will run out of money by the end of 2008, prompting the School Board to consider seeking a voter-approved tax hike on ballots in March or November 2006.
District Business Manager Anthony Cozzi told an audience of school board members, village officials and residents Sept. 6 the district will exhaust its cash reserves at the end of 2007, the year the teachers' contract is set to expire.
"Obviously, we have financial issues here," District 90 Board President David Gregg said after hearing Cozzi's budget overview. "We likely will establish a community group to study and respond to our financial situation. The community can expect a rolling out of that process in the next few months."
Cozzi said the district's average salary increase during the last two years has been less than 4 percent.
"You can't get top performance without excellent leadership," School Trustee Ron Adkins said. "We've squeezed the penny for a long time and you can only squeeze it for so long."
Hike in 1998
The district sought a tax increase in 1998 to pay for salary increases, Gregg said.
"When it was passed, we told the community we'd have to look at another in 2002 and we're now three years past that," School Trustee Kristen Coe said.
The financial overview Cozzi provided indicates the district will face a $3.8 million deficit across all operating funds by the end of the 2008-09 school year, and a deficit of $8.3 million by the end of 2009-10.
District 90's annual budget is on display at district headquarters, 7776 W. Lake St. A public hearing on the budget will be held Sept. 19 before it is finalized.
Cozzi attributes the deficits to state imposed tax caps, increasing expenses and higher than anticipated enrollment. Cozzi said the district has sold property and issues bonds to help fund increased spending.
District enrollment has increased by 40 percent between 1990 and 2005, Superintendent Marlene Kamm said. "We're not seeing the decline that was projected for right now," she said.
Ballot windows
Gregg said he expects the School Board to review two timelines at their meeting 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17 in the Roosevelt School Resource Center, 7560 Oak Ave. At that time Gregg said the board then will likely have a better idea when to schedule a tax hike referendum.
"There are two windows next year when a referendum could be placed on the ballot, in the spring or fall," Gregg said. "We likely will be forming a community committee to study this. Last time we did this there were several months required to reach conclusions. The board needs to look at the tentative schedule. We would decide no later than Oct. 17."
Village President Frank Paris has floated the idea of seeking home rule status for the village, hiking the municipal sales tax and using some of that revenue to fund District 90 in lieu of a school property tax hike. Paris, on hand at last week's School Board meeting, afterward said he hasn't abandoned the idea, which would require voter approval as well.
"I'm trying to do what I can to make their deficit disappear without increasing property taxes," Paris said. District 90's deficit "could be cut in half or by two thirds with a sales tax increase, and that would be great for taxpayers."
Gregg said he's concerned that asking for village home rule status and a school tax hike on the same ballot will confuse voters. The School Board hasn't taken a position on Paris' home rule plan.
The village hosts the first of three public forums on home rule at 7 p.m. next Wednesday in Room 206 of the River Forest Community Center, at 8020 Madison St.
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