Schools
New Trier Approves Tentative $102 Million Budget
New Trier Township High School District 203 administrators say the district is in "good shape." In its operating funds, the district is showing a surplus of $1.3 million, plus a contingency of $250,000.
The school board unanimously approved a tentative $102 million spending plan for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, up 4.35 percent from what the district planned to spend last year.
Much of the increase is due to . The projected increase in operating expenses – not counting capital improvements, life safety work and debt payments, among other things – is 2.43 percent, with projected spending of $93.9 million.
On the revenue side, the district is projecting collections of $100.5 million, or an increase of 3.98 percent from last year. It is projecting an increase in operating fund revenue of 2.61 percent, with expected income at $95.3 million.
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Earlier:
The district has scheduled a public hearing and vote on the budget at its Aug. 20 meeting.
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“We’re basically in good shape with the budget,” said Don Goers, the associate superintendent, noting that in its operating funds, the district is showing a surplus of $1.3 million, plus a contingency of $250,000.
Increases in revenue include 2.2 percent in new property taxes because there was slightly more new property added to the tax rolls than expected and a 23 percent increase in state revenue – a fairly small portion of the budget. The change in expected state revenue is “just because our budget was a little bit low last year,” Goers said.
Board member Carol Ducommon said the budget projections going forward look the best they have in her more than seven years on the board.
“This is the strongest it’s been since I’ve been on the board. It’s really wonderful,” she said.
While the budget is looking good for next year, the district should be looking for potential problems down the road, Goers said.
“There are several issues coming up, including pension reform and demographics with our enrollment going down,” he said.
New Trier has campuses in and
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