The Niles Township High School District 219 Board of Education was presented with the budget draft for the 2024-2025 school year at its Aug. 5 board meeting. The budget comes at the end of COVID-19 relief funds from the federal government and as the district takes on major construction projects for its high schools.
The Board will vote on implementing the $198 million budget at its Sep. 3 board meeting. The budget is anticipated to have a surplus, with nearly $150 million coming from local property taxes from Niles Township residents, who include residents of Skokie, Morton Grove, Lincolnwood and Niles.
Jim Vreeland, the district’s assistant superintendent of business, told Board members that one of the budget highlights is the transfer of $30 million from the Education Fund to the Capital Projects Fund, which will cover the cost of expansions at Niles West High School and Niles Central High School.
In January, the board of education approved a $41.6 million building addition to Niles West High School and a $28.2 million building addition to Niles Central High School. The district also recently completed its $24.5 million building addition to Niles North High School, which opened the building to students in September 2023.
The Board approved $7.3 million in repairs to the pool at Niles West and is contemplating building an additional pool for diving or lane swimming.
The district received $5 million from the Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) Act as part of federal relief money arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, though the program has ended.
At a special board meeting Aug. 13, the Board approved a four-year contract with the district’s teachers. “Salary projections are built into the budget to ensure that we have enough there to accommodate those pieces,” Vreeland said. Teacher benefits “are pretty much flat,” he added.