Decatur Schools Face Potential Budget Shortfall
The Decatur school district is looking to avoid a major budget shortfall for the next school year. The district will be short just a little more than $7 million. The biggest problem is that tax assessments have dropped by almost $22 million.
The state estimates base costs at $6,119 per student. If a district raises less than that through local taxes, general state aid is supposed to make up the difference. But the district estimates next year that aid will only be 83 percent of that difference.
"When the locals are able to pick up less, that puts a greater emphasis on the state to pick up even more," district business affairs director Todd Covault said. "So if you appropriate the same amount of money to the state board of education, it's not enough to pay the general state aid."
The Illinois State Board of Education estimates the percentage of that $6,119 that each district can raise locally. Decatur is at just over 55 percent for this school year. By comparison, Springfield is at nearly 77 percent, East St. Louis is estimated at less than 15 percent, and the Chicago suburb of Barrington checks in at more than 200 percent.
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