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Proposed District 207 budget calls for 2.8-percent tax hike
Updated: September 17, 2012 1:58AM
PARK RIDGE — All but one Maine Township High School District 207 Board of Education member voted this week to approve the tentative 2012-13 budget.
The proposed budget includes a surplus of slightly more than $2.8 million for the 2012-13 fiscal year and calls for a property-tax increase of 2.8 percent. District 207 Assistant Superintendent for Business Mary Kalou said it is too early to say how that would impact residents’ tax bills.
The revenue for the fiscal year 2012-13 budget is about $1.2 million more than the 2011-12 budget, and the largest source of revenue is the property tax.
The property-tax increase last year was 2.6 percent, Kalou explained.
“I do not support an increase in property taxes in this economy,” said board member Edward Mueller, the single dissenting vote on the tentative budget.
Of the $2.8-million budgeted surplus, $2 million is the result of the discontinuation of the district’s two “orphanage programs” at the end of the 2011-12 fiscal year.
“The Park Ridge Youth Campus is now closed and up for sale,” Kalou noted, referring to the now-defunct home for at-risk teen girls.
Kalou said District 207 was responsible for educating residents of the Youth campus as well as Maryville Academy because those areas are within the school-district boundaries. Kalou said Maryville is no longer providing a residential-orphanage program at Maryville so the expenditures decreased.
The district now also receives a boost in property-tax revenue of about $600,000 from Rivers Casino in Des Plaines. The casino was included on the property-tax rolls starting with the 2011 tax levy.
Expenditures also decreased by $1.5 million due to 35 certified-teacher retirements and the reduction of about eight certified-staff members, but supplies and capital-outlay costs offset those decreases.
The projected fund balance as of June 30, 2012, is $117,061,778 and the projected fund balance for June 30, 2013, is $119,933,889.
A public hearing on the budget will be held at the Aug. 6 school-board meeting and the officials are expected to adopt the budget in September.
Kalou said the state still owes District 207 about $1.5 million. Kalou said payments could be made from the state to the district between now August, as was the case last year.
