At their September 13, 2023 meeting, the Board approved the FY 24 Budget, which is the 14 consecutive balanced budget. The District’s Finance Overview document was also recently updated and is available on the District website. Highlights of the FY24 budget include:
The FY24 operating budget (all funds except Debt Service and Capital Projects) is $210 million and is balanced.
The budget for high-priority capital projects (mechanical, roofing, flooring, paving, etc.) is $9.9 million and represents the Board’s continued commitment to making investments in our infrastructure providing our students with the best possible learning environments.
As noted in District 200’s Portrait of a Graduate, academics and learning are at the foundation of our work. An academically excellent student is someone who possesses mastery of core academic content and skills and recognizes the importance of being a life-long and self-directed learner. Toward that end, District 200 has invested to support learning acceleration and implementation of a new English language arts curriculum at the elementary level.
The District continues to be a responsible steward of public tax dollars.
At an operating expense amount of $16,879 per pupil in FY22, District 200’s operating expense per pupil has historically been below the State average and is the second lowest among our other benchmark districts.
The FY23 Fund Balance (savings) is estimated to be around 32%, within the range of the Board’s 25–40% fund balance policy. The final FY23 Fund Balance % will be available later this calendar when the FY23 audit is complete.
Standard & Poor’s maintained the District’s bond rating at AA+, the 2nd highest rating level possible.
The State Board of Education continues to designate the District in the Financial Recognition category, the highest possible, for the past seven years.
The FY24 budget marks 14 consecutive years of a balanced budget.
Also at their meeting, the Board discussed the possibility of abating taxes over the next two years. District 200 was recently made aware that a surplus of bond and interest tax dollars, from previous referendums, had been collected due to the 1% cushion the county adds to the bond levy to protect from collection shortfalls. This approximately $3.5 million could be used to fund infrastructure needs. However, our district understands this is taxpayers’ money and was intended for specific projects that have been completed. The Board’s Finance Committee will recommend the Board approves to abate it back to our taxpayers over the next two tax cycles.