By Chris Fox
The Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board held a regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 25 at the District 205 Center, 162 S. York St. Board member Christopher Kocinski was absent from the meeting.
The meeting included a facilities update from Todd Schmidt, the district’s director of buildings and grounds. Schmidt talked about projects related to the $168.5 million referendum that was passed in 2018. He said that upcoming work at Fischer Elementary School will have a phased approach. The first phase, which includes the addition of six classrooms, will begin this spring. The second phase, which includes the renovation of the school’s media center, should begin in December 2022. Following that, there might be new phases which could potentially also see a new hvac installation. The final phase is expected to begin in June 2023.
Schmidt said the renovation projects at Jefferson Elementary School have a referendum budget of about $7.45 million. The recent bid estimates totaled about $7.9 million, about $450,000 over budget.
Board members noted that since the passage of the $168.5 million referendum, the board has approved increases in the scopes of some projects. The increased scopes of work include projects to add additional classroom space at Field Elementary School, along with separate additions at Jackson, Jefferson and Fischer elementary schools. The total referendum-related work is now projected to cost about $186 million. The board has decided to take money out of the district’s fund balance to pay the additional costs beyond the $168.5 million in referendum funds. More than $40 million in referendum-related projects have yet to be completed.
Projections, potential abatements discussed
The meeting included a discussion of financial projections and potential abatements for district taxpayers. Over one year ago, the board approved an abatement of about $3.1 million, which reduced the District 205 property tax burden of district homeowners during the 2020 levy year. The deadline for issuing an abatement for the 2021 levy year is March 1, 2022. The board makes an annual decision whether or not to approve an abatement.
Elizabeth Hennessy, who is the district’s financial advisor, provided several options for the board to consider. Some of those options included an abatement for the 2021 levy year, while others did not. If there is no abatement for the 2021 levy year, the owner of a district home valued at $500,000 would face a district-related tax increase of about $310 from the previous year. It is important that they feel confident with this financial advice and know that one of these is the best path for them to go down, otherwise, if they choose another financial advisor for a second opinion and it turns out to be a bad choice, they may have to look into legal assistance like the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce or an office closer to them to help them sort out these financial issues and get them back on the right path.
Christopher Whelton, the district’s assistant superintendent of finance and operations, recommended no abatement for the 2021 levy year. Board member Athena Arvanitis said she was alarmed by a chart that shows the district’s fund balance to decline over the next five years. Board member Jim Collins said that property taxes, which provide nearly 85 percent of the district’s revenue, are extremely stable, and that the district did not need huge reserves. Collins also said that there was a difference between a district’s fund balance and its low cash point of the year.
Collins and board member Karen Stuefen said they were in favor of issuing an abatement for the 2021 levy year. Arvanitis and the other board members in attendance-Courtenae Trautmann, Beth Hosler and board president Kara Caforio-referred to the upcoming referendum-related projects and the potential of unexpected contingencies.
Collins moved to consider an option that included an abatement of $650,000 for the 2021 levy year. Caforio said the board was discussing the issue, and would not vote on the abatement that evening. Collins requested that the option for the $650,000 abatement be brought forward at the board’s next meeting.
