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School Board News Bulletin
April, 2003

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Financial watch, early warning lists toll 283 districts

As war continues, schools prepare for possible terrorism activity

Administration plan could cut down on school lunches add, red tape

Blagojevich advances final two state aid payments to schools

Teen fails in bid for Shawnee board seat

NEWS FROM IASB

Annual Conference information to be mailed June 1 from IASB

Joint Annual Conference hotel rates frozen, some cut

Suggested annual conference panel topics for 2003 chosen

IASB's Springfield office moving, effective May 1, 2003

REFERENDUM RESULTS

Nearly 45 percent of all tax referenda approved

Financial watch, early warning lists toll 283 districts
Nearly one in three Illinois school districts facing significant financial difficulties

Thirty-two percent of all Illinois school districts are encountering major financial problems. That is according to the state's latest financial profiles of public school districts, released by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) March 19.

The financial watch list - a catalog of districts encountering the worst financial difficulties - includes 100 of the state's 893 school districts. An additional 183 districts are classified in the next most severe category, landing them on the state's newly created "financial early warning list."

Academic problems common in financial watch list districts

State data indicates schools that are shortchanged financially may be shortchanging students academically. Thirty-six of the 100 districts on the 2002 financial watch list had one or more schools placed on the newest academic warning list issued by ISBE last December.

A fast analysis by IASB staff finds a total of 128 academic warning list schools outside of Chicago are located in financial watch list districts. That represents more than 42 percent of all suburban and downstate academic warning list schools. State law provides that schools must be placed on the academic early warning list if most of their students fail to meet state standards for two consecutive years.

As one might expect, the more financially troubled a district is, the more likely it may be to encounter academic troubles. Thus, only 46 academic warning list schools hail from districts appearing on the new financial early warning list, compared to the aforementioned 128 schools from the still more destitute watch-list districts.

"The 2002 analysis shows that almost 74 percent of our school districts were operating with deficits last year, and we expect that to be over 80 percent by the end of this school year," said ISBE Chairman Ronald J. Gidwitz. "Students are being shortchanged by the inadequacies of our funding system for schools."

New financial snapshots more precise

The new financial profiles are considered an accurate picture of local schools' financial health, thanks to use of a new methodology for identifying districts in difficulty. In past years profiles were generated using a single financial indicator, namely the fund balance to revenue ratio.

The new watch list is more precise, revealing the financial status of school districts by examining five indicators of financial performance. If the new indicators had been used last time, 79 districts would have appeared on last year's watch list, yet only 11 districts were actually on that watch list.

The entire list of financial profiles, including comments by district superintendents, is available on the ISBE Web site at: http://www.isbe.state. il.us/sfms/P/FY02%20county320.pdf .

In addition to the 283 districts appearing on either the financial watch or early warning list, 276 school districts have been placed on the financial review list, a milder signal of potential funding problems.

But the financial profiles did not only bring bad news. The 334 school districts on the new financial recognition list will get a commendatory certificate from ISBE.

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As war continues, schools prepare for possible terrorism activity

School administrators in the Chicago area have recently stepped up preparations for possible terrorism in conjunction with the war in Iraq. Some school districts have told parents that they would be prevented, or strongly discouraged, from picking up their children in the unlikely event of a biological or chemical attack.

At Niles Township High School District 219, Skokie, security officials have been placed on heightened alert, and Skokie police have been asked to perform extra patrols near the school buildings, according to District 219 Superintendent Neil Codell.

Niles West and Niles North High School teachers have spent class time fielding war questions from students and encouraging them to read materials outside of class to formulate their own ideas about the war. Some of those discussions began even before the start of the war with Iraq in March.

School officials in some districts have added a "shelter-in-place" plan for chemical attacks to their usual emergency procedures.

Most would follow the shelter-in-place plan outlined in the booklet the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and ISBE recently produced and distributed. The booklet, called the Illinois School Emergency Planning Guide, provides school administrators and staff with information they can use to develop or revise school emergency plans.

Since the outbreak of war, several school districts have canceled field trips, including one from Jamaica High School, which was to put students on a flight to Europe. The district also postponed until the fall a trip for eighth graders to Washington, D.C. Wayne Scarlett, Superintendent of Jamaica C.U. District 12, said Euro Club high school students will get their money back for their trip.

Meanwhile, the Chicago public schools have suspended 48 trips, about half of them to Washington, D.C. The travel restrictions came amid intensified, but still vague, warnings of terrorist attacks in the United States.

Even before the war, a few travel plans were being cancelled. At Township High School Dist. 211, Palatine, the school board voted February 27 to cancel 11 foreign exchange trips for the upcoming summer. Board members said that while they understand the educational value of an international trip, student safety was just too great a concern.

"Obviously it is very disappointing to cancel these trips, but we are not about to gamble with our students," said Martha Swierczewski, board president.

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Administration plan could cut down on school lunches add, red tape

A little-noticed provision of the Bush administration's proposed 2004 budget would ask families to prove their children's need for free school meals. But the administration proposal to tighten eligibility could discourage some low-income families from participating, and could create more red tape for school administrators as well.

The proposal suggests families should have to give schools proof of their household income and family size in order to remain eligible for subsidized school meals. The proposal arose because federal studies indicated up to 20 percent of all children who receive free meals may not be eligible.

School leaders say such a plan could be an administrative nightmare for larger districts, particularly those that enroll substantial populations of students from low-income families.

The school lunch program feeds more than 800,000 students in Illinois.

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Blagojevich advances final two state aid payments to schools

School concerns that the state's budget woes would deprive school districts of anticipated year-end state aid payments are unfounded, thanks to an action announced by Governor Rod Blagojevich in late March.

Blagojevich revealed March 27 he had sent letters to Comptroller Dan Hynes and Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka instructing them to transfer general revenue funds to the common school fund in order to make the year's final two state aid payments in June.

The Governor's order will ensure school districts receive the final two school aid payments of this fiscal year during this fiscal year. The two payments total roughly $267 million. The state sends 24 state aid payments to districts every year, and this promised June-issued funding will represent the 23rd and 24th payments of FY 2003.

"I will also continue to direct that these payments be made on time for upcoming fiscal years," the Governor added.

State Superintendent of Education Robert Schiller said the governor's action will head off trouble for many Illinois school districts, all of which have based their budgets on the money coming through.

With that large concern settled, Schiller said the Illinois State Board of Education will now wait to see whether legislators will approve a supplemental appropriation of $22 million to make up for this year's education budget shortfall. He said it is

still not known, also, whether lawmakers will approve pending legislation to require the state to meet annual school funding needs.

If neither plan is approved, he noted, the state could still be forced to reduce the final FY 2003 state aid payments to districts by 18 percent to cover the potential shortfall.

Source: Governor's press release, March 27, 2003.

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Teen fails in bid for Shawnee board seat

Saying he hoped to be a liaison between the board and students, an 18-year-old student from Wolf Lake in deep southern Illinois was a candidate for the Shawnee C.U. District 84 Board of Education. Sean Copeland is a senior at Shawnee High School in District 84, and ran against three incumbents for the three open seats on the board.

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NEWS FROM IASB

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Annual Conference information to be mailed June 1 from IASB

June 1 is the planned mailing date for the Joint Annual Conference registration packet IASB sends to district superintendents each year. Questions concerning registration procedures for the conference should be directed to IASB Meetings Management, at ext. 1115 or 1102.

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Joint Annual Conference hotel rates frozen, some cut

In response to widespread school district financial problems, conference headquarters hotels have cut their rates and all "Triple-I" conference block hotels have agreed to freeze their rates at the 2002 level for the 2003 Joint Annual Conference.

Conference headquarters hotels, the Hyatt Regency Chicago, and Chicago Sheraton Hotel and Towers, have actually reduced their Conference rates to the 2001 rate level for 2003. Both hotels have agreed, as well, to offer a 30 percent and 20 percent reduction, respectively, on parking.

"This will result in a $22-a-night saving per attendee at the Hyatt and an $18-a-night saving per attendee at the Chicago Sheraton Hotel and Towers," according to IASB's Pat Culler, who negotiated the rate reductions.

"We know these are difficult times financially for many school districts, and we are striving to help in whatever way we can," added Culler, IASB's Assistant to the Executive Director for meetings management.

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Suggested annual conference panel topics for 2003 chosen

All of the 2003 Joint Annual Conference panel ideas proposed by school districts have now been evaluated by IASB and "winning" proposals have been chosen. The selected school districts are currently being invited to present these "Share the Success" panel sessions.

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IASB's Springfield office moving, effective May 1, 2003

The planned move of IASB's headquarters offices will begin the week of April 21, and will be effective May 1, according to IASB's chief financial officer Bob Morenz. The new address, 2921 Baker Drive, is located on Springfield's near south side, and the new Zip Code is 62703-5929.

Springfield employees will be working in the new office beginning Monday, April 21. The Springfield phone number, which is not changing, will ring there starting that morning.

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REFERENDUM RESULTS

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Nearly 45 percent of all tax referenda approved

April was the best and the worst of times for school finance referendums. Nearly 45 percent of all tax increase referendums won voter approval at the April 1 consolidated election, but just 43 percent of bond issues were approved, preliminary results indicate.

If those results hold up, the April election was the first in many years to see tax referendums approved at a higher rate than bond issues.

On average in recent years voters have approved nearly 60 percent of bond issues, compared to 35 percent of tax propositions. But this election yielded both the best outcome for April tax referendums since 1999, and the worst outcome for April bond issues since 1991.

Voters approved two annexation proposals, and a consolidation. Specific- ally, voters approved the annexation of Tower Hill C.U. Dist. 6 to Pana C.U. Dist, 8 in south central Illinois; and the annexation of Utica Elementary Dist. 135 to Waltham C.C. Dist. 185 in north central Illinois. A consolidation plan was approved in western Illinois, as well, establishing a new unit school district in the territory comprising Northwest C.U. Dist. 175, Sciota; and Colchester C.U. Dist. 180.

In addition, so-called tax caps were rejected by voters in Moultrie County, which was the only county with a property tax extension limitation law (PTELL) question on the April ballot.

Final referendum results and a list of district outcomes are being posted on the IASB Web site as well as an analysis of trends, and the results will be included in the May Newsbulletin.

For a look at the success rate of recent tax rate and bond referendums, visit the IASB Web site link at: www.iasb.com/files/finance.htm . For more information visit the state elections agency's Web site at: www.elections.state.il.us/ .

Sources: IASB survey, Illinois State Board of Education telephone survey, and newspaper accounts.

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IASB ARCHIVES HOME

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