Planning to spend $15.3 million less than it did a year ago, Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 expects to impose its first tax increase in five years and dip deeper into its cash reserves than it did last year.
The District 60 Board of Education unanimously approved a $328 million budget Tuesday at the Lincoln Center administration building in Waukegan, revealing its plan to fund the 2024-2025 school year ending on June 30.
With the bulk of the district’s anticipated revenue of $278.5 million coming from state sources — approximately $169.5 million — Gwen Polk, the district’s associate superintendent for business and financial services, added a tax hike into her planning.
When the coronavirus pandemic impacted the earnings of many Waukegan residents in 2020, Board of Education President Brandon Ewing said at the time keeping property taxes flat would help ease the financial burden of many in the community.
During the pandemic, the U.S. Congress approved relief to schools nationwide as part of an overall plan and Polk said District 60 received $82 million. The money had to be spent during a specific timeframe. It was all used by June 30 as required.
“We used those funds for (mostly) one-time expenses which we needed to do,” she said.
With the COVID relief funds already used within the legally required timeframe, Polk said it was necessary to calculate property tax income into the revenue projections. By law, it can only be the lesser of 5% or the consumer price index (CPI), which is 3.4%.
A year ago, Polk said property tax revenue to the district was $52.7 million and could rise to as much as $55.4 million, but she anticipates it will be less when the precise amount is known this spring.
Though the board has kept taxes level since its last increase in 2019, Ewing said the legislative body must give serious consideration to increasing the property tax levy. The deadline for passage is in December.
“We’ve held it as long as we could,” Ewing said. “All of our staff received pay increases. If we want to provide our children with the education they deserve, we have to make an investment in the future.”
Projecting a spending plan of $328 million — it was around $343.5 million last year — anticipated revenue from all sources is expected to be near $278.5 million, leaving a gap of about $49.6 million, according to the budget document.
Polk said the rest of the needed money — $49.6 million — will come from cash reserves as it did a year ago. There should be $92.3 million remaining in the bank on June 30, according to the budget document.
Should the projections fall short, Polk said adjustments will be made and the budget modified during the year. When the budget planning began, the administration was aware of the situation.
“Being aware of the fiscal situation, we are prepared to address it and make the necessary adjustments as needed,” she said. “We continually assess the situation and let everyone know what we have to do.”
Of the $328 million spending plan, approximately $200 million — or 62.7% — goes to salaries and benefits of all district employees. Another $66.9 million is spent on contracted services, with the rest used for supplies, capital expenditures and more.