'Area Of Confusion' For Elmhurst Residents: Official

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst's school board president said this week that some are confused over how much money the local district has on hand.

President Athena Arvanitis said Elmhurst School District 205 had $68 million on hand as of June 30, 2022, the end of the budget year. It is an audited number.

But June 30 is shortly after the district gets one of its two property tax payments from DuPage County each year, she said. So at that point, the district is flush with cash.

During the school board election earlier this year, candidate Tom Chavez repeatedly noted the $68 million in arguing against a 5 percent hike in the district's property tax levy. He said the district had enough money.

A Patch story in March detailed his arguments.

"People like to say we have $68 million, $70 million in the bank," Arvanitis said at a school board meeting Tuesday. "This is an area of confusion for our community at times."

She continued, "Since that number has been deemed inflated, the board uses the cash flow low point method, which is the May 30 fund balance."

That number is expected to dip to $30 million this budget year, she said.

The low cash point is falling because the district is transferring out $7 million annually over three years for the expanded scope of building projects. The work is costing over $20 million more than the $168.5 million in debt that voters approved in 2018.