Dist. 135 Budget Crunch: Board Rolls Back $1M In Cuts

ORLAND PARK, IL — District 135's school board rescinded more than $1 million in controversial budget cuts it approved earlier this month in an attempt to address parents' outrage over decisions they said would hurt school quality.

“We heard your voice loud and clear," said board member Gregory Okon. “We're going to do what we have to do to make it right."

The board will revisit all budget measures at a regularly scheduled board meeting March 11. This will include creating a combined first-and second-grade class, and eliminating honors programs and other budget-cutting proposals, including the ones that were rescinded. The board will also consider forming parent committees to help make savings and spending plans.

The special meeting Monday night was standing-room only at Meadow Ridge School. The tension was palpable.

In his presentation, Superintendent DJ Skogsberg outlined the district's fiscal history, explaining how fluctuating property values, assessment appeals and other factors hit the district's bottom line. The state, for example, owes District 135 more than $6 million in funds, he said. The district also has not raised taxes over the years.

Still, the district needs to trim nearly $3 million more from its $80 million budget. If the district does nothing, Skogsberg said, it will be looking at a $20 million deficit by 2024. Eventually, they'll need to look at raising taxes and making deep cuts.

In 2017, the district saved more than $1 million through cutting or collapsing positions, which included eliminating bus and lunch duty positions.

Earlier this month, the board decided to eliminate five more full-time elementary enrichment staff positions and to phase out honors Spanish and German, as well as honors science and social studies during the next few years. Only four of the seven board members were present for the vote, and they unanimously approved the cuts. These all were rescinded Monday night.

Parents, however, pushed back, saying that the cuts would sacrifice the quality of their schools and the value of their properties. They also question the board practices, which they said were done without proper transparency.

One educator, Carol Baker, described how teachers helped her identify that her son was gifted and was reading at a college level. Specialists stressed that he needed appropriate supports to help him succeed, supports that included going to a new school, she said.

"A student with an IQ 15 points above average is just as misplaced as one with 15 points less," she said. "No matter how hard a teacher works, a child's needs will never be met" without honors-level or similar classes, Baker added.

Board President Laura Berry said that the board had been transparent, yet acknowledged that it needs to improve its communication with the public because although the board had been transparent, there hadn't been "good communication."

She also pointed out that only three members of the public attended a December budget meeting when similar issues were discussed.

Follow my tweets from the meeting.