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Schools

District 97 Board Sends $47.9 Million Referendum To Ballot

Convinced that state tax money is on the way, school board cuts request by more than a third.

The upcoming April ballot referendum recently proposed by  school leaders just got a lot smaller – $27 million smaller. 

After approving a , the District 97 school board learned the state had approved a new income tax increase that funds Illinois schools.

Newly confident that state money will arrive in coming years, the board on Tuesday decided to drop consideration of a contingency plan and instead unanimously approved a new $47.9 million referendum option.

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The decision was bolstered by a pledge over the weekend from Supt. Al Roberts, who said he would make $925,000 in cuts even if the referendum passes, with $800,000 of those cuts permanent.

That savings totaled $5 million through 2018. Roberts has not specified which departments or programs would get the axe. 

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The board also switched from its previous strategy of a temporary tax increase through a working cash bond option — which officials said would've been more costly. 

A working cash bond option for $75 million would have increased taxes through 2018 by $61 for every $1,000 already paid on Oak Park property tax bills. 

On Tuesday, the board approved a more permanent limited rate increase, one that translates to $37.40 per $1,000, or $347 on a typical $10,000 tax bill.

Despite the potential new funds, school officials said District 97 may still end up nearly $2.5 million in debt by 2018 and likely seek another referendum.

But avoiding the working cash bond option allows the district to dodge a $10 million debt in the roughly the same time frame. 

“This is a message I feel completely confident taking to the taxpayers,” said board president Peter Traczyk. 

Traczyk added that the state's income tax increase, while benefiting the district’s overall economic picture, was a strong factor in the board's decision to limit the size of their request to Oak Park taxpayers. 

If the referendum does not pass, the board has also approved the resulting necessity of .

Those cut would include the CAST and BRAVO arts programs, the elimination of elementary art classes, middle school sports, and layoffs.

If the referendum does pass, part of the total would include $11 million for capital expenditures such as technology improvements and upgrades to foreign language and the arts, especially music.

"Part of the message to the community is we're not asking them to pay more for the status quo," Roberts said. "There has to be more."

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