FINANCIAL SECTION - School District U-46

August 16, 2010
Members of the Board of Education and Citizens of School District U-46:
We are pleased to provide you information regarding FY 2011 Budget for the 2010/2011 school
year. Our aim is college and workplace readiness and elimination of achievement gaps. This
budget is aligned to our District Improvement Plan which is intended to move us toward this aim
and our ultimate goal of Academic Success for All.
The Fiscal Year 2011 Budget for School District U-46, Counties of Cook, DuPage, and Kane,
State of Illinois, is presented for your consideration. Fiscal Year 2011 begins July 1, 2010, and
ends on June 30, 2011. The budget is a one-year financial reflection of the District’s planning
processes.
In accordance with Board policy, the FY 2011 budget is balanced; however, the impact of
balancing the budget will be significant. The hundreds of teaching positions eliminated means
larger class sizes at all grade levels. It means buildings will be cleaned less frequently. The
cuts we have imposed result in a second year of administrative salary freezes and, through an
agreement with the Elgin Teachers Association, a one-year base and step salary freeze for all
teachers (though teachers will still receive salary increases for reaching specific milestones,
such as earning a Master’s degree). Customer service will suffer due to the reduction in the
number of support personnel.
The Fiscal Year 2011 Budget projects $458.8 million of revenues and other financing sources,
and $456.7 million of expenditures, for a net increase in total fund balance of $2.1 million. The
largest area of concern in this budget remains funding reductions for FY 2011 and anticipated
delays in payments from the State of Illinois. We project, based on the state-approved budget,
that General State Aid will be reduced by $15.2 million when compared to last school year. In
addition, we project another $6.5 million less in mandated categoricals, such as transportation
reimbursements, from the State of Illinois. The total reduction when compared to last year is
$21.7 million.
State funding will continue to be a problem for U-46 beyond the 2010/2011 school year due to
the manner in which the State currently calculates our payments. Our District had been a strong
supporter of a bill that would have leveled the playing field in the state’s calculation of General
State Aid. Senate Bill 2499 was intended to correct a unique situation facing U-46 that results
from the estimation of property tax limiting rate. Though it passed unanimously in the House of
Representatives (113 representatives in favor) and 40-15 in the Illinois Senate, the bill was
vetoed in its entirety by Gov. Pat Quinn. The bill would have provided School District U-46 the
estimated $22 million for this school year, and it would have placed us on a level playing field
with all other school districts.
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