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District 181 board postpones vote
Updated: October 7, 2012 6:06AM
Burr Ridge — District 181 officials postponed a budget vote Monday, asking for more information on technology spending.
Several Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Elementary District 181 Board members expressed a desire for more specific line-item information, especially in the area of technology.
“Technology is spread out in so many different places in the budget,” board President Michael Nelson said. “We’re spending a significant chunk of money on this; I think we just want to be clear about it.”
Gary Frisch, assistant superintendent for business, said he would compile the information about those expenditures. A special board meeting likely will be called prior to a scheduled 7 p.m. Sept. 10 committee meeting for discussion and a vote on the budget. The board also could wait to vote until its Sept. 24 regular meeting.
The final 2012-13 budget, as presented, is balanced. Anticipated operating fund expenditures of $56,879,675 are up 3.5 percent over the 2011-12 pre-audit actual expenditures.
Operating fund revenues are budgeted at $58,037,107, a 1.8 percent increase over the 2011-12 pre-audit actual revenues.
The 2012-13 budgeted expenditures plus $1,154,233 in transfers out to the debt service fund leaves a net balance for 2012-13 of $3,200.
About 94 percent, or $54,417,295, of the district’s revenue is expected from local sources, of which 97 percent will be from property taxes. The remaining revenue for District 181 is expected from state aid, 4 percent; and federal aid, 2 percent.
The district’s expenses are divided mainly among salaries, 68 percent; employee benefits, 16 percent; purchase services, 8 percent; and supplies and materials, 6 percent.
“There really aren’t any major significant changes from last year,” Frisch said. “The district is in good financial shape. The business office is well run; there are qualified people doing a quality job.”
Frisch noted that District 181 recently received a AAA bond rating from Standard and Poor’s, a designation that puts the district among the top 2 percent of bond-rated school districts in the country. The strong rating was due mainly to positive financial operations, strong financial reserves, low overall debt burden, and community support, Frisch said. ~.
