Brookfield - LaGrange Park School District 95

Office of the Administration
3524 Maple Avenue
Brookfield, Illinois 60513
Phone: 708-485-0606 Fax: 708-485-8066
www.district95.org

Dr. Mark L. Kuzniewski
Superintendent

Superintendent

April, 2012

Dear District 95 Community:

This time of year marks the point where the District begins working on the budget for fiscal year 2013 (FY13). I'm certain that local media has made you well aware that the State's budget is in crisis. In fact, the State's funding issues are worse today and carry a far greater negative impact to local school districts than ever before.

This past year, General State Aid (GSA), the money districts receive from the state to operate the schools, was pro-rated to 95%. That means we will not receive one payment or roughly, $41,000 that we were promised this year. This year, the GSA funding fell to $5,953, which is below the funding level of $8,360 that the State Board of Education recommends schools should be funded by the state. This decrease in funding only means that the overall budget needs to be supported by more local dollars.

In addition to the reality that GSA continues to decrease and remains unstable, current legislation focused on reducing the State's transportation budget by some 42%, deeper cuts to K-12 of almost $800 million if no Medicaid reductions are achieved within the State, and a shift of pension responsibility from the State to the local school districts has many of us wondering how we will continue to do more with less. This could translate to roughly a half million dollars in lost revenue from the state for our district.

District 95 has always balanced decision making with financial consideration. Most recently, the District updated is long-range financial outlook from two years ago. In doing so, the Board and Superintendent have an opportunity to look at the long-range financial stability of the district and use that information to make prudent decisions on educational expenditures. This exercise coupled with the attention to building the yearly budgets allows District 95 to continue to receive excellent financial ratings and operate under a balanced budget. The fact that District 95 has been able to remain fiscally solvent in these incredibly troubled times is a true testament to the work of the Board.

The financial operations of a school district are utterly confusing to say the least. However, if at anytime a member of the District 95 community wishes to discuss in detail the District's financial outlook, I welcome the opportunity to meet with you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mark Kuzniewski
Superintendent of Schools