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the New Lenox Patriot | September 15, 2016 | 5
Lincoln-Way D210 Board of Education
District 210 expected to operate at surplus in FY 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
Fund and Operations and
Maintenance Fund are set
to start off the fiscal year at
negative fund balances of approximately
$3.7 million and
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).”
“After years and years of deficits,
we’re operating at a surplus this
year. ... We’re still reviewing this
document, and we’ll continue
to develop the budget until it’s
presented to the board on [Sept.] 22.”
— District 210 Superintendent R. Scott Tingley,
on the tentative fiscal year 2017 budget
$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 education
and transportation funds,
and Wahlert said he thought
that was an important step
forward.
Tinley Park resident Robert
Ripp also asked the board a
few questions about the budget,
including what the district’s
financial profile score
would be if the FY 17 budget
went according to plan. Tingley
said he was not sure.
Ripp also noted that one of
the district’s board goals is to
develop a five-year financial
forecast, and he asked whether
this had been done. Tingley
said this was done as part of
last year’s PMA Financial
Network presentation, though
it had not been broken down
activity by activity.
Finance and Building
Committee
Following the budget hearing,
the regular meeting of
the district’s Finance and
Building Committee was
held.
The committee discussed
an overall decrease in utilities
and maintenance spending
in August, as well an
asphalt and roof evaluation
for Lincoln-Way Central and
Lincoln-Way East.
Tingley said the estimate
for the asphalt evaluation is
estimated at approximately
$8,000, and the roof evaluation
is estimated at approximately
$16,000. The
estimates are from DLA Architects.
The committee briefly discussed
the merits of using
DLA or another firm, and
Tingley explained that to
negotiate prices, the district
has to use its architect. To
go with another company, it
would first have to select the
company and then be able to
evaluate prices.
The item is expected to be
brought before the Board at
its next regular meeting at 7
p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, at
Lincoln-Way Central.
Contributing Editor Rebecca
Susmarski contributed to this
report.
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