There may be good news in the recent past for capital costs in Indian Prairie School District 204, with work now underway on large-scale projects funded with up to $420 million in voter-approved borrowing.
But looking to the future, officials project challenging financial conditions with potential deficits that could require staffing cuts, fee increases and potential use of reserves to balance the budget.
Cost concerns and funding uncertainties for District 204
Concerns about unpredictabilities in state and federal funding — as well as quickly rising costs of transportation, electricity and other services — rose to the forefront during a five-year financial forecast presented at Monday’s school board meeting.
“We’re now at a point where our recurring revenues no longer support recurring expenses,” said Matt Shipley, chief school business official. He projected balanced budgets this year and next, but deficits ranging from $1.8 million to $3.1 million beginning in budget year 2027.
The school board did not make any decisions, cut any positions, or raise any taxes or fees during nearly two hours of discussion. But school board members got a peek into future choice points they may reach in order to meet the education needs of roughly 26,000 students — and make payroll for a staff of nearly 3,300 in future years.
“It continuously gets harder and harder to keep up,” school board member Mark Rising said.
Future years show ‘relatively small deficit’
District 204 runs a large operation, with a current operating budget of $435 million. Spending under last year’s $433 million budget came “impressively close to on-budget,” school board member Allison Fosdick said, with expenditures above planned spending by only $22,482.
“The message to the community is, it is a relatively small deficit we’re looking at,” Shipley said. “But we are being proactive in addressing it because we don’t want to get to a point where it is a significant deficit.”
As administrators develop the 2025-26 spending plan, Shipley said they recommend several ways to cut costs or raise revenue. These include decreasing staff by a total of 19 full-time positions and increasing registration and other fees by 5%. Registration fees this year were between $73 and $195, so they could rise to between roughly $76 and $205.
“That’s not a decision we took lightly, either, but we do feel it’s appropriate and necessary given the current environment,” Shipley said.
Administrators also recommend no changes to departments’ discretionary budgets, which fund curriculum, technology and supplies.
“This is the second year those have been frozen with no increase,” Shipley said.
Fund balance could help meet district needs
The recommendation that drew the most concern from school board members was the idea of using some of the district’s roughly $167 million fund balance during the next several years to pay for one-time purchases and future capital expenses.
The plan would be to allocate $42 million for capital needs beginning in 2032 — after work funded through the recent referendum is complete — and $12.1 million for operating needs during the next 3 to 5 years. These could include curriculum and technology updates and purchase of more small buses to decrease transportation costs — things Shipley said otherwise may be deferred.
Using a total of $54 million in reserves would leave a fund balance of roughly $113 million, which remains above the 25% of operating costs that district policy requires.
The question is, “are we, as a board and as an administration, comfortable with that being enough of a cushion, considering what’s happening at the federal and state levels?” school board member Justin Karubas said.
Uncertainties about state and federal funding is precisely why the administration is recommending use of some reserve money for upcoming operating and capital costs, Superintendent Adrian Talley said.
“It would provide additional liquidity in case of state funding delays or other funding challenges,” Talley said.
Next step: 2025-26 budget update May 5
The district plans to update the school board on the preliminary 2025-26 budget during its May 5 meeting. The fact the district is considering things like raising fees, cutting staff and spending some reserves proves officials are taking charge of a financial situation that doesn’t quite add up before the gap could grow, officials said.
“We’re being exceptionally responsible stewards of our taxpayers’ money by making sure that even a small difference doesn’t snowball in the future,” Fosdick said.
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