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Schools held in state aid suspense
By Phyllis Coulter
pcoulter@pantagraph.com
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NORMAL -- Central Illinois school superintendents are checking every day now to see if general state aid arrives before their fiscal year ends June 30.

So far: no money.

“I looked this morning; it hasn’t been deposited yet,” said Ridgeview Superintendent Larry Dodds on Thursday.

His Colfax-based district is expecting $127,000 in general state aid payments any day now.

“I believe we will get it; I expect it might be Friday,” he said.

The timing is important to school districts.

If the money is received after June 30, it could affect the school districts’ credit rating and state financial rating, and that can affect how much it will cost districts to borrow money.

The general state aid delay came on top of delayed payments for certain programs, such as transportation and special education. In some cases, districts have been waiting months for those payments.

“It’s an awkward situation,” said Jim Gillmeister, Normal-based Unit 5’s chief financial officer/treasurer.

His district is expecting $1.54 million in the last two general state aid payments of the fiscal year. It temporarily borrowed $10 million this year to fill the gap until state funding and property taxes collected by the counties were received.

For the first time this year, Ridgeview had to issue $1.2 million in tax anticipation warrants because of delayed state and local money. The warrants are short-term borrowing to be repaid when the money does arrive.

State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, told Bloomington District 87 officials Wednesday that the state aid money should arrive any day now. District 87 is looking for $423,072.

“Those dollars will be there,” he said.

The vouchers to release the money have been issued, but the state comptroller must process them and wire the money to the school districts.

It’s not enough that the vouchers have been issued. Vouchers previously were issued for transportation, special education, and other expenses — months ago in some cases — but the money hasn’t been received yet.

For Pontiac Grade School District 429, for example, vouchers for $583,000 has been issued, but none of that money has been received, said Jill Amm, district secretary. The Pontiac district also is waiting for $310,000 in the pending year-end general state aid payments.

“Even though it’s vouchered, it’s not guaranteed we will receive it this fiscal year, but we’re hoping,” Amm said.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich had asked Comptroller Dan Hynes earlier this year to withhold about $390 million in school aid payments to help close a $750 million budget gap. In May, Blagojevich asked Hynes to release the money.

While Brady said general state aid payments will come within a day or two, he said other state payments for special education and transportation may take longer.

“I always thought it (general state aid) would come through (by June 30),” Dodds said, but he’s “not optimistic” about getting prompt state payments for transportation, special education and early childhood education that total $152,000 for his district.

Ridgeview and Unit 5 are among local school districts and other taxing bodies, including libraries, fire districts, municipalities that did receive money this week. It came from early property tax payments from McLean County in the second such distribution this year.

“We obviously understand their concerns,” McLean County Treasurer Rebecca McNeil said Thursday of taxing bodies. “We sent out $13.3 million on June 11 and issued $43 million this week,” she said.

“She’s (McNeil) sensitive to the entire community, all the taxing bodies that rely on this,” Gillmeister said. “That certainly helps.”

Unit 5 received almost $20 million of its early tax payments in these two distributions — that’s about half the total it will receive from the county in 2008. In all it receives about $83 million a year from McLean County.

Combining general state aid with transportation, and special education funding, Unit 5 is still waiting for about $3.5 million from the state.

“It’s a pretty big hole in the budget to fill,” he said.

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Reader comments on this story - 2 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

NWHS student wrote on Jun 27, 2008 9:18 AM:

" It would speak bad about Obama if the senate had anything to do with releasing education money. Too bad thats Blago's job.

I'm hoping for no school next year? "

3838 wrote on Jun 27, 2008 8:54 AM:

" actually i think the fine mess of affairs in illinois speaks well for our senator obama, dont you "
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