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Politics & Government

St. Charles School District Finances Slip in ISBE's Eyes

The number of Illinois districts ranked "highest" is shrinking, the number of districts ranked lowest is growing — and St. Charles and Batavia drop to the No. 2 spot — the "Financial Review" designation.

It's not a precipitous drop, but St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 fell a notch on the Illinois State Board of Education’s annual Financial Profile this year.

District 303 dropped from "Financial Recognition" — which is earned by 65 percent of the school districts in Illinois in the recent announcement — to the "Financial Review" designation, according to the Financial Profile document.

Batavia Public School District 101 also dropped from the "Financial Recognition" category to the the "Financial Review" category. Geneva Community School District 304 kept its "Financial Recognition" spot for the second-straight year.

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The Financial Profile provides a snapshot that helps the  Illinois State Board of Education gauge school districts’ financial condition based on five indicators of financial performance: fund-balance-to-revenue ratio, expenditures-to-revenue ratio, days cash on hand, percent of short-term borrowing available, and percent of long-term debt remaining.

The 2013 Financial Profile is based on districts’ annual financial reports from fiscal 2012.

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The designation categories in descending order are:

  • Financial Recognition
  • Financial Review
  • Early Warning 
  • Financial Watch

Sixty-five percent of the school districts were in the "Financial Recognition" category. But the number is down from 670 last year to 562 this year. The state has 865 districts.

The number of districts listed in "Financial Watch," the lowest designation, increased from 17 last year to 45 this year.

The 2013 Financial Profile for all Illinois districts, in order by name, can be found at http://www.isbe.net/sfms/P/combined_district.pdf.

 School

 Year 

 Total Score 

 Designation

 St. Charles 303 

 2012

 3.45

 Review


 2011

 3.70

 Recognition

Batavia 101 

 2012

 3.35

 Review


 2011

 3.70

 Recognition

 Geneva 304

 2012

 3.70

 Recognition


 2011

 3.70

 Recognition

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