D210 Board Member: 'Numbers Speak for Themselves,' School Closing Only Way Out

The Lincoln-Way District 210 Board of Education Thursday swiftly eliminated options of a tax hike and cutting extracurricular offerings, leaving only the option of a school closure to pull the district out of its debt.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” said member Chris McFadden, “and I just don’t see any other way out of this.”

After years of deficit spending, the district landed on the state’s 2015 Financial Watch list this spring. To get Lincoln-Way’s books in order, district officials were forced to consider a range of options for the coming school year, including teacher and staff layoffs, program cuts or a tax-hike referendum. A tax hike would not guarantee the district a more secure financial profile until 2018-2019, said Superintendent Dr. Scott Tingley.

A school closure is projected to save the district $5.2 million, and would get the district out of the red by 2015–2016 fiscal year.

None of the district’s four schools is currently operating at capacity. East currently holds 2,154 students; Central, 1,889. Both were built to accommodate 3,750 students. North and West were built for 2,500 students; 1,766 are enrolled at North, 1,285 at West. Enrollment is expected to drop by 2020, from 7,259 to 6,621.

The district is required to submit a Deficit Reduction Plan (DRP) to the Illinois State Board of Education by September, which needs to indicate how the district will reduce its deficit spending within a three-year time period. State takeover will occur if a plan is not in place, or the district strays from it.

Board members appeared united in their decision to pursue a school closure, but board President Kevin Molloy moved to table the decision until the board’s August meeting, to allow additional time for analysis and consulting an outside firm. The board examined eight closing scenarios, two for each school. One is based on attempting to group students by junior high attendance; the second according to redrawing district boundaries. Members urged Tingley to consult an outside firm before making a final decision of which school would close.

Board member Chris Kosel said the board’s decision needs to be made swiftly.

“This is the first step of us looking forward, at what we need to do to maintain the excellence that is Lincoln-Way, and keep it affordable,” said member Chris Kosel, of deciding to eliminate the option of a tax hike. “If we need to close it for a short period of time, then reopen—hopefully, we don’t know. We have to prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.”