Fiscal Responsibility

• Issue: PROPERTY TAXES.
  Year after year, the taxes District 211 levies are significantly greater than expenditures, creating a huge excess of funds. The accumulated fund balance is far above the Board’s target of 33%. The actual fund balance was $162,870,937 as of June 30, 2022. The approved budget expenditures for the 2022-2023 was $285,110,400. This is 57.13% fund balance against the approved budget.
  It sits around making a small amount of interest instead of being in the hands of the community, many of whom are struggling to pay very high property tax bills.

POA: Cap the tax levy at the budget amount. Our current Board of Education and Administration has responded that the surplus is a result of late payments from the state and/or uncertainty in the pension system. This needs to change. The levy is not intended to raise funds for future capital expenses, debt service levy, uncertain state politics, or a zombie apocalypse.

UPDATE:  The Finance Committee Meetings have been dissolved, and a majority of the board continues to approve administrative recommendations with little discussion towards improvement.

• Issue: Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts

POA: Ring the bells and wake people up.  It's crazy to think that more residents aren't up in arms about this. A small group of elected officials decide that a part of town needs to improve. They then decide to make those improvements on the backs of the property owners. Elected officials need to be at the Joint Review Board (JRB).  Sending the D211 Associate Superintendent for Business is not adequate representation of the district stakeholders.

Stakeholder Accountability

Issue: Respect for the Parent

POA: Open committees for parents and the community. Find ways to introduce dialog with stakeholders. A Saturday BOE meeting was held Nov. 13, 2021, and was well-attended for an inaugural effort. It was intended to provide an opportunity for a dialog with parents. A few board members shut this down as their perspective was that the meeting was of little value. The IASB Foundational Principles of Effective Governance Principle 2 is “The board connects with the community.”  Community engagement specifically includes involving diverse citizens in dialogue. The connection to stakeholders is something the BoE can improve. I would support another attempt to establish a reoccurring Sat. morning meeting. 

Academic Growth

Issue: Student Development

POA: Revisit a focus on core academics. Review and renew a focus on tutoring. This might need to include students from NHS to assist staff shortages. Insist on implementation of best practices associated with SAT prep materials. This should be available to all students across the district.

The state report card can be found here: TOWNSHIP HSD 211 | District Snapshot (illinoisreportcard.com)

 Issues as they develop.