Post by brant on Feb 23, 2010 7:22:06 GMT -6
School districts ax teachers, blame state for financial meltdown
Illinois hasn’t paid the current school year’s education bills in months
Chicago-area school districts already struggling with multimillion-dollar budget deficits are warning of mass teacher layoffs and deep program cuts for the coming school year — an impending crisis they blame on the recession and the state's chronic financial woes.
The state hasn't paid the current school year's education bills in months, despite $3 billion in federal stimulus funding provided over the last two years.
"The state fiscal crisis we are in is absolutely unprecedented," said Mary Fergus, spokeswoman for the Illinois State Board of Education.
In addition to teaching positions, school districts already have chopped or postponed pool hours, athletic teams and textbook purchases. Others plan to cut band programs, increase class sizes, reduce field trips and use fewer substitute teachers.
A snapshot of some troubled districts:
• Maine Township High School District 207 in Park Ridge has approved the elimination of 75 teaching and 62 nonteaching jobs.
Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 has discussed cutting up to 160 full-time jobs next year and eliminating the fifth-grade band program.
The Chicago Public Schools system faces a budget deficit as high as $900 million for next year, up from about $475 million this year, officials say. The district has laid off more than 500 employees and expects to lay off another 500 this school year. So far, the layoffs have not hit the classroom.
Elgin-based School District U-46, the state's second-largest district, has cut 348 jobs — mostly nonteaching — for the current school year. It also closed five swimming pools and canceled the athletic "B" teams. The district predicted a $15 million budget deficit next school year, on top of the $50 million deficit carried over from this year.
Naperville's Indian Prairie School District 204 is considering up to $13 million in cuts, including a layoff of non-tenured teachers, increasing registration fees and delaying new textbook and technology purchases.
To help deal with the problem, school officials have faced angry parents and teachers at budget workshops and even tried more unusual tactics — such as asking residents to vote on line-item cuts and posting signs that announce how much the state owes the district in unpaid bills. In all, the state owes Illinois districts $725 million for this school year, with the oldest unpaid voucher dating to October.
Most school officials face mid-March deadlines to approve budget reductions for the coming school year, because the law requires them to notify teachers 60 days before the school year ends if their jobs will be eliminated. But with the state months behind in some payments to the districts — and uncertainty about how much state aid will be available next year — officials say they are forced to prepare for a worst-case scenario.
As often happens, if additional state funding arrives by late summer, districts may rehire some teachers who were laid off, officials said. But they warn that the financial picture looks unusually bleak for the next school year.
School districts are likely to see decreases in state aid over the coming year, said Rep. Suzi Bassi, R-Palatine, who serves on an education appropriations committee, referring to the $6,119-per-pupil payments in general state aid to districts. The amount is adjusted according to a formula based on a school district's property wealth.
"This is across the board. It is not just education," she said. "The state is in utter crisis. We are right next to bankruptcy. We have a $13 billion hole in a $28 billion budget."
Besides declining property values, the growth of many school tax levies is limited by a cap of 5 percent or the consumer price index, whichever is less.
This year's index fell to 0.1 percent — much less than the growth of key costs, including energy, health care and previously ratified labor contracts, officials said.
David Holm, assistant superintendent for business at Indian Prairie School District 204, said that six months ago, he was more concerned about the low index because "that basically means no increase in that revenue source," he said.
"Right now, (the bigger concern) is the state of Illinois and their financial situation going into next year," Holm said.
"The potential this year is that districts will nonrenew (teacher contracts) in a much larger number because of the possibility we have to make those cuts," he said.
Chicago schools spokeswoman Monique Bond said the district was not prepared to outline its plan for the upcoming budget year, but indicated that job cuts likely will affect all aspects of the school system.
"Revenue is down, costs are up and there is no relief from the state," said Bond. "That means there are no guarantees and everything is on the table."
At Maine Township based in Park Ridge, critics questioned why school officials do not dip deeper into the district's reserve, an $86 million account that helps the district cover bills between twice-yearly "paychecks" from the state and maintain a good credit score.
"A few years ago, we had a $115 million reserve," said Cathy Creagh, an English teacher at Maine East High School. "We went from that to… such dire straits we have to slash 70 teachers and have 30 retirees? … There are a million other things you can consider."
Also facing duress, Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 delivered a plea to parents during a meeting this month: Contact your legislators.
The district, which has 29,300 students but is still growing by 400 new students annually, also imposed fee increases.
"The point here … is this is not a District 202 issue, it is not a suburban issue, it is not a Chicago issue. This is a problem that is exacerbated by the way Illinois funds its public schools," district spokesman Tom Hernandez said.
The problem is caused by the bad economy, the collapsed housing market and the way Illinois relies on property taxes, said Hernandez, adding that the state is $12 million behind in payments to the district.
"It's been a perfect storm and particularly for a district like ours," he said.
Michael Jacoby, executive director of the Illinois Association of School Business Officials, based at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, said that what people often don't understand is that salaries make up the largest part of a school district's budget.
"Eighty percent of what a district spends is on people," Jacoby said. "Cutting supplies or taking a copy machine out of a school — they are low-hanging fruit but really won't balance the budget. People are the thing you need to remove to balance the budget."
Admittedly, that can cause pain.
Kerry Kelly, an Elgin mother of four, said that District U-46 last year cut the teacher aides from her first-grader's dual-language classroom at Channing Elementary School.
"I think, ‘How can they cut any more?' " she said. "We withstood so many teacher layoffs. It seems impossible that they can cut more. It is so depressing."
