Indian Prairie School District 204 may have to cut the equivalent of 50 full-time jobs if voters reject the district’s proposal to sell up to $420 million in bonds, the district says. officials recently announced.
The proposal will be submitted to voters as a referendum question in the upcoming November 5th general election.
If voters approve the bond sale, the money would be used for needed facility improvements. These include projects that touch all 33 schools, including improving school safety and security, making up for deferred maintenance and streamlining operations, among other things. District school and district officials have previously stated:
Bond payments will be paid using the continuation of the existing property tax rate of 37 cents per $100 of assessed value, which would otherwise expire at the end of 2026, making voter approval of the bond effectively a tax rate. It is said that it will remain unchanged. Go to past reports.
But even if voters reject the Indian Prairie School District’s bond proposal, Matt Shipley, District 204’s chief school operations officer, said the district would still be spending a “minimum” amount on facility renovations. They say they will need to spend $13 million more each year. .
He told the district’s Board of Education at a recent meeting that the district must use its already deep operating budget and other resources to pay for these minimum improvements.
Shipley previously said the district receives significantly less funding per student than other comparable and neighboring districts, and less than the state believes is appropriate funding per student.
The $13 million annual cost could be partially paid for by using a contingency fund of about $40 million and seeking state grants to cover an estimated $30 million in needed upgrades. The district would still have to divert about $5. According to Shipley, 1 million yen of the annual operating budget is earmarked to fund these necessary improvements.
He said the company expects to save $5 million a year by cutting the equivalent of 50 full-time positions next year.
The Indian Prairie School District is considering making some of these cuts at its main office, but the district already has fewer administrators than needed and there is no need to cut as many staff at the main office. No, School District 204 Superintendent Adrian Talley told the board.
“So it’s going to have an impact on schools. It’s going to have an impact on class sizes. It’s going to have an impact on programs,” he said. “I don’t say this lightly. I say it because it’s the truth.”
One place the district may be looking to cut staff is in kindergarten, first and second grade classes, which recently reduced class sizes at a cost of about $1.5 million annually, Talley said. It is said that he did.
He said it is his belief and hope that the district can maintain the position it needs to keep class sizes down.
“I believe that the success we have had over the past few years is due in part to our reduced class sizes,” Tully said. “What I’m saying tonight is we shouldn’t have a bond referendum and we’re going to go straight to K, One, Two? I’m not saying that, but it’s probably a possibility. It will be very expensive.”
However, he said these reductions amount to only about 15 full-time equivalent positions, meaning there are still far-reaching impacts to achieve the required reduction of 50 full-time equivalent positions. Ta.
If voters approve the $420 million bond issue, the district will aim to issue the first round of bonds by the end of the year, Shipley said. He said the first round will likely give districts about $14.5 million, which will go toward initial improvement funding.
He said funding safety and security improvements will be the district’s top priority when using bond funds.
In an earlier presentation to the school board, Shipley said that if the bond is approved, the district is planning $40 million worth of construction projects in summer 2025, including $10 million to build secure school entrances. The money will be used for safety and security upgrades, including outdoor equipment upgrades. door.
The next bond sale will likely be for $156.5 million in July 2025, according to Shipley’s recent presentation. Another sale is planned for $169 million in July 2027, and the final sale is planned for $80 million in October 2029, he said.
In addition to safety and security improvements to be completed by late summer 2026, the bond will also fund other school-related construction and maintenance projects, with some schools being completely renovated and others being renovated. Relatively small-scale construction work will be carried out. According to past reports.
Waubonsie Valley High School and Gregory and Hill Middle School will undergo “comprehensive improvements,” meaning total renovations and a number of other works, according to a statement on the district’s website. It is listed on the voter information sheet.
In a video about various school needs that was also posted on the district’s website, Shipley gave examples of problems within schools that could be addressed with money from the bond sale.
Examples include narrow stairs that barely fit two students abreast, and a leak in the upper gymnasium that is warping the floor. Both are located at Hill Middle School. Shipley said in the video that the building is the oldest middle school in the district and still has its original 40-year-old roof.
District officials have previously said the money raised from bond sales cannot be used to cover day-to-day operating expenses such as salaries and programs.
But since many of the projects funded by the bond will increase efficiency and reduce recurring costs, Shipley previously said the money could be used to hire additional teachers or reduce class sizes.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
