Elmhurst School Spending About Same Over Decade: Audit

ELMHURST, IL — When inflation is taken into account, the Elmhurst Public School District's spending has increased little over the last decade, according to the district's latest audit. In the 2009-10 budget year, the district's operational spending amounted to $95.8 million. By 2018-19, that number increased to $114.9 million, about a 20 percent increase, barely above the last decade's inflation.

If the district's operational spending kept up solely with the inflation rate, it would have risen to $114.1 last budget year, a 19 percent increase. During the same period, the district's average daily attendance rose to 7,889, from 6,672, a 2.8 percent increase. Operational spending per student rose to $14,571 by 2018-19, from $12,482 a decade earlier. That increase was 16.7 percent, less than inflation over the period.

Because the Elmhurst district is wealthier than most, local taxpayers picked up 89 percent of its spending, compared with an average of 66 percent for districts statewide, according to the state Board of Education. The poorer the district, the more the state contributes.

Operational spending does not include capital outlay, certain special education costs and bond principal payments.