Layoffs Expected At Center Cass D-66: Official

DARIEN, IL – Layoffs of teachers are expected at Center Cass School District 66, meaning larger class sizes, an official said Wednesday.

The district serves students in parts of Darien and Downers Grove.

In an interview, school board member Brian Liedtke said the board was poised to lay off eight teachers for the 2023-24 school year.

In the summer, Superintendent Andrew Wise recommended teacher layoffs, but the board rejected such a move. Members approved most of Wise's recommendations for budget cuts.

The reductions came after voters in June turned down a 24 percent increase in the Center Cass part of their property tax bills. Now, the board is seeking a hike of nearly 20 percent in the Nov. 8 election.

"The board has to cut teachers," Liedtke said. "There is no proverbial meat on the bone."

The board also likely needs to cut classes such as foreign languages, art, band and choir, he said.

The layoffs would not take effect until the next school year. But they could be reversed if voters approved the tax hike in November. Liedtke said that would happen through loans known as tax anticipation warrants.

In a statement earlier this month, board President Liane Raso, on behalf of members, admitted the district made mistakes with its finances.

When Wise took the helm in 2020, he discovered the district's former auditor had not provided the entire picture of fund balances, Liedtke said.

Annually, Center Cass' account balances on June 30, the end of the budget year, included early tax dollars that were intended for the upcoming year, according to the district.

Because of this, Raso said, the board didn't know the entire extent of how little cash it had on hand.

"Without the early tax dollars, the District struggles to make payroll in the current school year," she said.

Liedtke said the auditor did nothing improper with the accounting.

"There was no malpractice. It wasn't illegal," he said. "Could they have done a better job informing the board and the administration on how they were presenting their audits? Absolutely."

In an email, Wise agreed, saying the auditors did not violate any generally accepted accounting procedures.

But he added, "Showing both the early taxes in the fund balance and early taxes not in the fund balances paints a better picture for the Board and Community on our true fiscal status."

Under Wise, Liedtke said, the district had done a lot of research on the timeline.

"There is a significant revenue gap," Liedtke said. "Educators make up the largest part of the budget. Teachers aren't causing the budget deficit. It's a lack of revenue that is causing it."

Even with the potential tax increase, Liedtke said, the district would still be on the lower end with its property taxes.

The district is already seeing pain as a result of the budget cuts enacted over the summer. With four fewer bus routes, the district shortened the school day by 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the school.