Staff Reductions, Increased Class Sizes Possible Amid D202 Budget Cuts

PLAINFIELD, IL — Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 is considering staff reductions and increased class sizes for the 2026-27 school year as it grapples with an annual loss of nearly $7 million in state funding.

Administrators shared in January that District 202 was among the school districts that were moved from Tier 1 to Tier 2 by the Illinois Department of Education after the state adjusted its Comparable Wages Index for schools. In addition to the funding cuts, the status change also reduces future funding opportunities and priority for state allocations, Patch reported.

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"Unless District 202 is restored to Tier 1 status, these funding challenges are expected to continue compounding in future years," officials wrote in a Wednesday news release addressing budget forecast variance and funding challenges.

Officials said part of the budget challenges are a result of salary and benefits expenditures being projected to exceed year-end budget forecasts by approximately $5 million, with the variance accounting for about 1.6 percent of the total salary and benefits budget.

The variance is largely related to more educators than expected advancing to higher salary lanes after completing additional graduate coursework and professional development. The increases totaled nearly $900,000 this year, compared to about $200,000 in a typical year, officials said.

"The approximately $700,000 increase in salary lane advancement costs was not the result of budget reductions or cost-cutting measures," the district wrote in the release. "Rather, it reflected an unusually high number of educators advancing on the salary schedule after completing additional graduate coursework and professional development. The District's broader financial pressures stem from the loss of approximately $7 million annually in Tier funding following changes to the state funding formula."

Since October 2025, monthly financial reports consistently reflected rising staffing and benefit variance due to the district's need to add personnel throughout the school year, according to the release.

The district said it also experienced higher-than-expected student enrollment and transfers, which required 20 more certified staff members, 10 paraprofessionals and one therapist to be hired.

"In addition, a $88,400 increase from last year in stipends was paid to high school teachers who assumed additional course assignments," officials said. "These staffing adjustments occurred after the budget had already been approved."

Parents with children attending District 202 middle schools claimed Family and Consumer Sciences classes at Indian Trail Middle School will be slashed as a result of the budget cuts. The district did not confirm the information to Patch but said administrators are working to "creatively design encore schedules that provide a variety of experiences for students."

RELATED: Family And Consumer Sciences To Be Dropped At Plainfield Middle School, Parents Claim

The district reiterated in Wednesday's update that no staffing decisions for the 2026-27 school year have not been finalized. Teachers may have received tentative class assignments with the understanding that changes could still occur.

Officials did not say how many staffing positions could be cut or by how much classroom sizes could increase.

What led to the decrease in tier status?

Superintendent Glenn Wood told Patch in January that District 202 was reclassified to a lower tier after Illinois adjusted its Comparable Wages Index for school districts.

"Although the district’s adequacy percentage rose from 73.2 percent to 78.6 percent, this was only because the state lowered its adequacy target by $7.3 million, not because the district received more resources," he said. "At the same time, actual district costs grew by $2.1 million."

Board of Education President Rod Westfall told Patch at the time that he believed the state funding formula changed in part to increase the budget for Chicago Public Schools.

"We believe this is a back door way to fund CPS, and we're ticked off about it," he said, adding that the district was told tiers change with the loss of students. "[CPS] have lost 30,000 kids this year. They've lost minority and special ed students. Their only growth was white students."

In Wednesday's update, District 202 maintained the claim.

"Before the state funding formula changes that increased funding to Chicago Public Schools while reducing funding for several suburban districts, District 202 consistently qualified as a strong Tier 1 district," officials wrote in the release.

RELATED: Board President 'Ticked Off About' $7M Funding Loss As District 202 Outlines Strategic Plan