Deficit Spending Projected To Increase In District 34

GLENVIEW, IL — The Glenview District 34 Citizens Finance Advisory Committee presented a five-year financial forecast projecting a continuing financial deficit for the district barring intervention from the board. The projections suggest the district could experience a $1.9 million deficit in 2019, a $2.3 million deficit in 2020, a $2.6 million in fiscal year 2021 and a $2.0 million deficit in 2022, according to a district news release.

CFAC member Richard Kreutzfeldt said increases in special education tuition, transportation costs and staffing needs led to the change for fiscal year 2018, among other things. By providing the Board with a five-year financial outlook, the district said it could could improve its financial trajectory by proactively introducing changes.

"I want to emphasize that the forecast is a projection – not a prediction – of what is going to happen. The work of CFAC is to bring awareness to the potential outcomes so the Board can evaluate how best to address these issues,” Kreutzfeldt said.

CFAC also presented the board with an alternate forecast with a potential two-year property tax freeze, according to the release. In that forecast, revenue would be $1.5 million lower in in fiscal year 2020 and a $2.5 million lower for fiscal year 2021. Saying the potential was "currently unknown," the committee suggested the district should disregard it for the moment.

“The five-year projections provided by CFAC are critical to maintaining our financial health as a district,” said Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Eric Miller. “These projections allow the district to pause, reflect and determine any potential next steps we need to take that are in the best interest of all stakeholders.”

Established in 2001 to advise the board, CFAC is comprised of staff members and residents with financial backgrounds, according to the release. The group has researched and reported on district spending and revenues since that time, as well as performed benchmarking analysis for various district metrics. The committee has been meeting since October to review the current year budget and consider assumptions used to generate the five-year projections.

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