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frankfortstation.com News
the frankfort station | September 15, 2016 | 5
Lincoln-Way D210 Board of Education
District 210 expected to operate
at a surplus in fiscal year 2017
School Board unveils
tentative fiscal year
2017 budget
Meredith Dobes
Freelance Reporter
The public hearing for
Lincoln-Way Community
High School District 210’s
fiscal year 2017 budget was
brief on Sept. 6, as just two
residents presented the board
with questions regarding the
district’s tentative budget.
The tentative budget includes
a surplus of $2.2
million, with approximately
$86.6 million in revenue and
approximately $84.3 million
in expenditures. The numbers
reflect a decrease in expenditures
and revenue from
the FY 2016 budget, which
included a $5.2 million deficit,
$101.4 million in revenue
and $106.6 million in
expenditures.
In a Sept. 9 phone interview,
District 210 Superintendent
R. Scott Tingley
attributed the savings to the
district’s operation of three
schools instead of four.
“After years and years of
deficits, we’re operating at
a surplus this year,” he said.
“... We’re still reviewing this
document and we’ll continue
to develop the budget until
it’s presented to the board
on [Sept.] 22.”
Tingley provided a brief
presentation at the start of
the hearing about notable
changes to the budget, and
a summary of these changes
from a previous version of
the tentative budget is now
available on the district’s
website, along with the tentative
budget.
The district’s Education
District 210 FY 2017 Budget
To see the tentative Lincoln-Way Community High
School District 210 budget for fiscal year 2017, visit
www.lw210.org, click the “Financial Update” box, scroll
down to the “Budget” heading and click “DRAFT Fiscal
Year 2017 Budget(PDF).”
Fund and Operations and
Maintenance Fund are set
to start off the fiscal year at
negative fund balances of
approximately $3.7 million
and $4.8 million, respectively,
to reflect the district’s
outstanding $20 million in
tax anticipation warrants and
$6 million in loans payable/
receivable.
Also in the budget, the
district moved $870,000 in
services provided to other
districts from the O&M
Fund to the Transportation
Fund, and the Transportation
Fund includes a $1.8 million
interfund loan from the
Working Cash Fund to the
Transportation Fund, as well
as repayment of the loan.
New Lenox resident Steve
Wahlert asked the board a
few questions about the process
by which the budget
was prepared, referencing
the Illinois State Board of
Education’s “Mechanics of
a School District Budget”
guide.
He said that while the district’s
process this year is a
“better effort than what got
us into trouble,” he wanted
to be sure the district would
follow State law regarding
amendments and revisions
to the budget.
According to the ISBE
document, a school district
can amend its budget by
following the same process
for the budget’s original
approval: post notice of a
budget hearing and where
the budget can be viewed
for public inspection; hold
a public hearing on the
amended budget; adopt the
amended budget at a public
meeting following the public
hearing; and submit the
amended budget electronically
to ISBE within 30 days
of adoption.
Wahlert said he asked
an ISBE representative
whether State law would
allow spending 10 percent
over budget. According to
the “Mechanics of a School
District Budget” guide, if a
change in the budget in the
amount of less than 10 percent
could be made by transferring
funds between line
items, this is allowed. However,
if a change results in
increased estimated total expenditures,
a formal amendment
is needed.
Wahlert said he was also
told the district could submit
an amended budget until
May, if needed. Tingley said
he expects that at some point
in the 2017 fiscal year, the
district will need to submit
an amended budget.
“When you’re looking at
a budget this large with as
many changing factors as we
have, there is a possibility
that adjustments will need to
be made based on the timing
of state funding and tax distributions,”
Tingley said. “In
terms of expenditures, these
are certainly estimates based
on estimates of the past, but
at the same time we’re operating
three high schools
which we haven’t for several
years.”
He added that this year,
with a new business team
in place, the district has put
more time and effort into
this budget.
Board Member Christopher
Lucchetti added that
this year, the board set up
contingency accounts for its
“10”
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