Protection Offered for Woodstock School Board

Rural Woodstock’s Susan Handelsman has prepared a critique of Woodstock School District 200.

She compares statistics from the Woodstock School District with those of Huntley’s.

Comparing Woodstock and Huntley School Districts

D200  Budget Planning Parameters and Assumptions include EAV [Equalized Assessed Valuation] projections.

Since 2011 at least, projections of flat-to-rising EAV have been significantly inaccurate. Instead, our district’s taxable property value has plummeted each year.

D200 VsD158 finances 1D200 VsD158 finances 2

Knowing this, the Board has increased spending every year, and levied higher taxes on a community in distress as a direct result of D200 spending and borrowing decisions.

This 2015-16 budget predicts modest growth in EAV each of 4 years going forward, just as the 2011-12 budget predicted.  McHenry County Assessor Ross denies having had input into these projections.

D200 VsD158 finances 3D200 VsD158 finances 4Even If this projection is more accurate than the one four years ago, it will still doom Woodstock citizens to a 5% property tax rate for the next 4 years.

The Board knows this, and yet endorses the current budget.

Comparisons of Woodstock’s shockingly high property tax rates to local, regional and national property tax rates have been broadcast, comparisons of D200 spending to a neighboring school district indicate profligacy, and local home price devastation is blatant.

It is illogical to assume that the Board will change its spending and borrowing pattern after years of repetitive behavior in possession of these data.

The only logical conclusion is that the Board is being influenced, legally of course, to budget in this irrational and destructive manner.

Influence might be characterized as either threats or inducements.

If the Board is being threatened by bullies, it would not surprise citizens who have experienced reprisals for voicing differences of opinion with school district spending practices.

We citizens would like to propose a new deal:

We will protect you.

We do not have the money of big and uniquely tax-and-liability exempted organizations, but we have time and energy and fierce resolve. We will form a phalanx around you, physically if needed, and virtually, on social media or to protect your livelihoods. If strikes are threatened, we can produce a “Strike Kit”, designed by home-school parents and in conjunction with Khan Academy, free to users.

If the Board is being rewarded for current budget practices, we citizens would like an opportunity to match the current offers. As we see the values of our homes shredded and the dollar amounts of annual property taxes keep rising, we can quantify a large dollar amount lost each year as a direct result of inordinately high school taxes.

If we take a portion of that amount we each expect to lose each year, we might each donate toward any legal method you describe as a counter-inducement.

Or, if social bonhomie is your primary inducement, we citizens would like an opportunity to make our personal friendship as important to you as your friendship to those few who gain at the cost of economic destruction of the community at large.


Comments

Protection Offered for Woodstock School Board — 31 Comments

  1. When Townships had an issue with a Board of Trustees reducing the salary of a Road Commissioner, Springfield passed a law to stop it.

    Why have local State Representatives and Senators not stepped in with legislation to protect YOU, the taxpayer from our School Board(s)?

    Answer: Illinois Federation of Teachers.

    Illinois comes in number one in the following: “By rank, what percentage of the total contributions to state candidates was donated by teacher unions?”

    Illinois comes in number three in the following:

    “By rank, what percent of the contributions to state candidates from the ten highest-giving sectors was donated by teacher unions?”

    http://www.edexcellencemedia.net/publications/2012/20121029-How-Strong-Are-US-Teacher-Unions/20121029-Union-Strength-Illinois.pdf

  2. Great information Susan!

    It seems to me to be as plain as “the nose on your face”.

    To me, the question is, what will it take to get some of these taxing bodies to change direction?

    Perhaps they do need protection, or friendship or whatever. If they would just tell us, I think we could make some inroads.

    The opportunity is definitely there.

    As Risa Hanson said in the budget meeting that they would have to make cuts if the state was late in sending funds or reduced their funding level.

    So, that means that cuts ARE possible, they just CHOOSE not to make them.

    I believe, we are in another bubble.

    I’ll call it ‘the taxing bubble’, and it too is about to burst in this county.

    We saw the other bubbles burst (stock market, dot-com, housing).

    Now, we know that this cannot continue, but no one seems to have the courage to do anything about it. Soon enough, it will be done for us all if we continue down this path.

    Thanks again for your work, Susan.

  3. I have enjoyed your analyses all the way, Susan.

    I think I saw more opportunity for change in your statement many months ago saying politicos should fear the Citizen but I see the benefit of protecting the pol from the selfish ever more demanding public coffer draining entities with their hands in Citizen pockets.

    However, as with children, I believe a balanced approach of positive reinforcement coupled with the occasional spanking will yield positive societal improvement from the morass of selfish childlike valueless thoughtless “governance” we have seen since the cultural revolutionaries took control of Education, Administration and Elected positions in our society.

    This may be a time to begin the conversation of a Non Productive Citizen vs a Productive Citizen.

    Anyone who derives any financial gain from public coffers are Non Productive Citizens while those who fill the public coffers are Productive Citizens.

    The argument, respectfully submitted to my fellows, is not whether there is a need for both but what the proper balance and roles of either may be.

    Is the farmer who toils in the field to bring in the crops to feed us yet takes money from the public coffers to do so a net gain or loss for society in general?

    Clearly we need food.

    Clearly we need people to enter professions in agriculture.

    Clearly research and yield improvement are necessary to the ever growing need for food around the world.

    Is public funding of these endeavors necessary and a net gain for society?

    Teachers are completely funded from birth to earth on the public dime.

    Their health plans are unobtainable by most private individuals, their work schedule is unrealistic for private individuals and their retirement is in no way associated with any realistic best practices around the world.

    Yet, without teachers could children learn?

    Could children learn as well or as much?

    Roads have gotten quite a bit of press after Obama told Americans they “didn’t build that” as he referred to their businesses and wealth.

    Clearly road companies are nearly entirely funded by public monies.

    They are also provably a necessity for modern commerce.

    Are roads something we need to fund publicly?

    Do they need to be built by private companies on the public dime or should they be nationalized for a net price/quality benefit?

    Since Eisenhower recognized the absolute need for large well built roads for the national defense and the United States clearly isn’t into defending its territory, laws, societal values or culture anymore is there any need for creating or maintaining a national system of roads?

    Who benefits?

    Who loses?

    Caterpillar is a major Illinois manufacturer and yet, is an internationalized business deriving major financial benefits from selling its wares to public entities and taking money from the public coffers to underwrite its business.

    Is manufacturing worthy of direct support by public monies or should their only benefit be derived from the private sale to public entities?

    This is a book in the waiting.

    This is the essence of the beginning of our conversation as a free society.

    Susan has hit upon the very local issue of private property confiscation for public benefit and whether the public benefit outweighs the private losses.

    Susan is the bellwether of public sentiment growing in our society against out sized public growth and intrusion.

    All sides have their interests at heart with no side holding a corner on selflessness or selfishness. Thus Bernie and The Hair.

    What an interesting time in which to live.

    I’m keen to see how quickly a free people continue to sell themselves into poverty and slavery or whether this free society may buck the historical trend to recapture its freedom won with so much blood.

  4. “The only logical conclusion is that the Board is being influenced, legally of course, to budget in this irrational and destructive manner.”

    Wow.

    I cannot see how that is in any way “the only logical conclusion.”

    I suggest Ms. Handelsman read up on the concept of fixed and semi-fixed costs and review the following facts before drawing “logical conclusions”:

    1. The number (10/11 vs 8) and location of schools (unclustered vs. clustered) likely has a profound impact on the level of fixed costs borne by each district.

    According to the 2013-2014 At A Glance Report Cards, Woodstock CUSD 200 (“D200”) has two high schools, two middle schools, six elementary schools and one early learning center (thus 10/11 depending on how you count that last one).

    By contrast, Huntley CONS SD 158 (“D158”) has one high school, two middle schools and five elementary schools.

    So D200 has an extra high school and an extra elementary school to fund through its budget.

    From a people and operational cost perspective, the existence of these schools will likely cause D200 to have a higher fixed cost burden than D158.

    As an example, Ms. Handelsman calls out the ~$300,000 difference in “School Administration (Principals Office)” but when considering the extra two schools and related costs in and around the Principal’s office it makes complete sense that D200 would incur more of these costs (negating the need for the emoji).

    It just doesn’t cost THAT much more to heat a slightly larger building.

    Also, the D158 schools are uniquely “clustered” into three campuses.

    That strategy likely helps reduce fixed costs even further (e.g., consolidated maintenance staff).

    Woodstock’s populations (and related history of school construction and geography) might require the extra two schools or prevent a clustered approach.

    But those are different discussions, better served by different data/information.

    2. D158 has increased from ~6,000 students in 2004/5 to ~9,000 students in 2014/5 (source: NW Herald).

    Whereas, D200 has remained essentially flat at ~6,000 students.

    This increase justified the construction of newer, larger and likely more energy efficient buildings.

    From that dubious source Wikipedia:

    “All buildings now in use by the school district were built between 1997 and 2005. It is very rare for a district of this size and rapid growth rate to have all new buildings.”

    D200 hasn’t had the luxury of this population growth to justify such new buildings and reduce their operational cost burden.

    Capital expenditures (like building new schools) are EXCLUDED from the Operational Expense [Spending] per Pupil metric you referenced above.

    3. So if we agree that the currently unavoidable fixed costs are higher (or at least significant) for D200 than D158, we also see that by serving 45% more students will help to lower the non-instructional cost per student, as fixed costs are spread over a wider population.

    The only metric that might make some sense to compare is the additional $1,266 in Instructional Spending per Pupil at D200, compared to D15

    However, 49% of D200 students are from “Low Income” families (as defined by the At A Glance Report Card) whereas only 6% are classified as such in D158. An extra 10% of D200 students are “English Learners.”

    Yet it is through D200 teacher’s and leadership’s efforts (along with parental involvement) that the graduation rate in D200 is 94%, above the 89% seen in D158.

    I profess ignorance as to how they accomplish this, but if it takes an extra $1,266 per pupil I applaud that spending.

    If nothing else (and of course there is A LOT else), those extra few high school diplomas will add to state and federal taxes in the long-run.

    But we aren’t talking about the meaningful discussions raised from the facts above.

    Instead Ms. Handelsman chose to do an anecdotal comparison of one district to another.

    From that flawed analysis, she is leaping to a concoction that D200 leadership operates in fear of the veiled reference to the teacher’s union’s lawful right to strike (if they so choose, weighing benefits against what I am sure are their core instincts to “do what is right for the children”), or some other boogey-man.

    The idea that the D200 leadership is too weak to fight, is simply the lowest of likelihoods and ignores the budgetary challenges inherited by this administration.

    On a more productive note, as a property-tax paying resident of Woodstock (with no kids) we SHOULD be talking about the need for the (up to) 5% increase in property taxes and/or advance the discussion about the long-term need for newer more competitive schools.

    Home prices will rise when we properly invest in our schools.

    We cannot shirk our obligations to the Woodstock children because of falling home values.

    It was not their fault.

  5. “Protection”

    or

    “Projection”, Cal?

    If those figures are correct (and I have no reason to dispute Susan’s work), that board should be looking for protection!

    Perhaps they need be reminded that they work for the taxpayers and not the administration.

  6. There is incontrovertible proof there is no correlative relationship between the amount of money spent per student and their performance.

    There is anecdotal evidence the more spent per student the more likely the school district is an overall failure.

    The highest cost in any school district is not the ongoing building or maintenance cost, it is the personnel and legacy costs thereof.

    The School Boards, being duly elected representatives of the population paying for the schools, have abrogated their duty to mind reasonable fiscal, personnel or capital expenditure policies overall.

    This is a general statement.

    This is also no statement of the fitness or dedication of any individuals in any position in any school district(for the fools who think everything is somehow about them personally).

    In any position of responsibility in any organization it is incumbent upon the leadership to mind these top three investments among many other competing interests within the organization.

    The argument forever will be what the proper balance is for any given organization.

    However, there is clear evidence locally of a total breakdown of solid decision making which protects the interests of the Citizen Taxpayer, the Employees and the Students(customers) of all public school entities.

    This translates into a “one day the piper will have to be paid” situation. Today is this day. Now is the time.

    As the infrastructure of the schools break down and the Citizen Taxpayer is being utterly destroyed financially by several influences out of their individual control the people minding the finances of the schools, the School Boards, the people helping to mind the budget of the schools, the Administration, and the front line employees(the Teachers) are wildly out of touch with history, economics, social mores or any recognizable sense of care for the community at large.

    While Rome burns their desire is to poison the children with fields of recycled rubber, give raises out of line with the rest of society, schedules out of touch with any local private worker, benefits out of line with what the President of the United States has said is generously available to the Citizen Taxpayer and a retirement which the average Citizen Taxpayer would need a minimum of $10mm invested to achieve.

    The selfishness of public employees and the communist public unions who utterly control them are deeply apparent in the treatment of the top local assets of the schools. When insane public fiscal policy eventually runs out of the runway of the public’s money this argument is what happens just before the fiery crash at the end.

    This is going to take a great deal of unselfish sacrifice on the part of the community and the public employees to help solve this problem. Susan is merely trying to open the conversation peacefully as a gesture of faith there are still neighbors inhabiting public office and public positions of trust rather than monsters who, at the behest and control of un American interests, are attempting to destroy(knowingly or unwittingly) this nation one state, one community or one school at a time.

    Perhaps the history teachers will hold a symposium for their brethren on how the eventual historical outcome of selfish public behavior will end.

    Working back through the Soviet Union to the French Revolution there may be a couple good examples. Perhaps Rome, a favorite of many, could be an example.

    Greece may offer some wisdom or insight into varying lifestyles and public policies and what they offered their respective city states in degrees of success.

    Or perhaps the most studied of our history teachers will selfishly pray they can make it to their sweet retirement without pain and, in their cowardice, pass greater sacrifice and pain to the next generation.

    Try harder.

    Be better than the last fifty years of self destructive fools.

    Fight now peacefully.

    It is FAR better than the alternative.

  7. Is there a chart of projected to actual EAV over say a 10 year span for each district?

    ++++++++++++

    The average years worked per teacher & administrator is less in Huntley than Woodstock, which is not surprising as Huntley had a bigger recent residential building boom than Woodstock (new single family houses require new teachers & administrators, and many although not all of those new teachers will have little if any years worked as a teacher).

    Using 2012 statistics from the ISBE TSR:

    Woodstock District 200 average 12.6 years worked for 492 teachers & administrators.

    Huntley District 158 average 10.4 years worked for 653 teachers & administrators.

    So Woodstock teachers average 18% more years worked per teacher & administrator.

    ++++++++++++++++

    The excess capacity of the recently built Woodstock North no doubt plays into the higher cost of that district.

    ++++++++++++++++

    The notion of hiking taxes to better schools which will result in increased property values is ridiculous.

    Have Woodstock property values increased since Woodstock North was built?

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    The education system is broke and broken.

    The pensions and retiree healthcare are unaffordable.

    Local pay hikes with state pension and retiree healthcare benefit hikes with the local taxes funding salaries and mostly state taxes funding pensions does not work.

    The monopoly school district with monopoly unions with forced fees to the union as a condition of employment model is a failure.

    +++++++++++++++

    The bond mess coupled with the pension and retiree healthcare unfunded liability mess mean guaranteed chaos as government education workers want their pensions and retiree healthcare and taxpayers as a whole have no appetite to fund more overly generous pensions and retiree healthcare and bond debt, all of which was not fully explained to the taxpayer.

    +++++++++++++++

    Lack of transparency in that mess is a major problem, just as lack of transparency was a major problem with subprime US residential mortgages bundled and sold to investors in Iceland.

    +++++++++++++++

    If the Woodstock taxpayer group gets enough members the school district will be forced to provide their response to the above concerns.

    So if you are concerned about property taxes join a taxpayer group because just as the unions figured out organization and strength in membership will get the attention of the politicians.

    +++++++++++++++++

    The problem is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.

    The politicians at the state and local level have created a giant mess that cannot be resolved without hurt and anger.

  8. The following is an actual quote by the President of the Board of Education: “

    Our fiscal plan expenses are gonna be the same, regardless,”

    Goodwin said in response to a question on how much money the district loses by operating two schools under capacity.-NWH 9/14/15

    This single quote, unfortunately, gives one an insight into mindset of the board.

    A normal person would conclude that someone that said such a thing is either outright lying or should be declared non compos mentis.

    For it is completely obvious that operating 1 full building is cheaper than running 2 half-empty buildings.

    If the Board President wanted to be straight-forward she should have just said

    “Yes, it is more expensive to do it this way, but we’re going to do it anyway.”

    And to clarify another post from above, per the district’s own financial documents, D200 has students attending 12 different buildings, rents out classroom space from McHenry County College, and occupies a 13th location that houses the district headquarters.

    http://www.woodstockschools.org/sites/default/files/woodstockschooldistrict200/document/CompAnnualFinancialReportFY15.pdf -see page 152.

  9. This is a different problem, and while I don’t love the details, I do like certain parts of the process, specifically…

    – Townhalls to discuss the issues
    – Phone polls to get a sense of the greater population’s sentiments.

    I wonder what it would take to get D200 interested in listening to the people they serve?

    http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20151026/news/151029084/

  10. In response to James Gabb:

    1. 1. The number (10/11 vs 8) and location of schools (unclustered vs. clustered) likely has a profound impact on the level of fixed costs borne by each district.

    So true.

    And rather than close two buildings incurring profound economically destructive operating costs for the past 9 years, the board has chosen to keep the buildings open at far below enrollment capacity.This is irrational.

    (Two high schools operating at 45%-57% of enrollment capacity, plus another building with 70 enrollment and enrollment capacity 300. Source: official statement of latest bond issue, Emma.msrb.org. D200 CUSIP number 581158).

    2. Factual inaccuracy. In 2006 D200 passed a bond referendum to borrow $105 million and built 3 new buildings, and since then they have spent copiously on additional construction, environmental rehab, and fire&safety ( from additional debt).

    If you will look at isbe historical financial archives ( debt is also listed on the report posted above) you will see that both D 158 and D 200 have both incurred a great deal of debt. Both have been paying large “( line 61: Debt Service-Payments of Principal on Long Term Debt)” interest and principal payments annually.

    The difference is, D158 has prudently stayed within Statutory Dept Cap borrowing limits while D200 has not.

    D 200 incurred so much debt that they are well beyond the Statutory Debt Cap (4.6% of total home value) meant to protect citizens from this very event: overborrowing and overburdening communities with debt.

    Woodstock citizens owe above 5% of total home value just for principal debt; additionally, a minimum $15 million of unstated interest (present value of accruing interest) on a Capital Appreciation Bond — just one outstanding issue out of many debt instruments outstanding— puts citizens’ debt burden above 6.5% of home value.

    3. I cannot agree that D200 extraordinarily higher fixed costs are unavoidable.

    All high school students could fit into the recently built new high school, all 70 students at a building with capacity for 300 could be integrated into other school buildings with operations around 75% of enrollment capacity.

    Your speculation that additional OEPP of D200 over Huntley ( the differential in 2014 was $3704) is justified in light of the poverty of this area is baffling.

    The poverty of this area is a direct result of the anomalously high tax rate.

    The percentage of household income spent on local property taxes in Woodstock
    Is 10-14%, compared to a national average of below 4%, according to BLS Consumer Expenditure survey.

    The idea that an additional 10% of household income can be stripped from a household budget without severe detrimental impact on the children in that household seems insupportable.

    The money that households all over America ( and Illinois, and even other municipalities in McHenry County) are able to save for children’s’ education is not available to households in D200 forced to pay that additional 10% of household income to property taxes.

    I believe that speculation about the value of spending other people’s money on something should include analysis of the harm caused by taking that money.

    If you are correct, you should be able to produce evidence that the social good caused by extraordinary expenditures outweighs the extraordinary social harm caused by taxing for those extraordinary expenditures.

    The D200 board has been presented source-cited data on all aspects of budget analysis, spending profligacy, and economic devastation of Woodstock over the past 8 years.

    Their public statements indicated they will continue to ignore this data as they have in the past. This is irrational.

    Therefore it is reasonable to assume there are other influences at work.

    It is irrational for citizens to continue efforts to appeal to logic or equity when such appeals have failed repeatedly over the years.

    Citizens should try something different, something that IS working.

    What is working?

    Whatever influences have been causing the irrational, destructive budgeting and borrowing by D200.

  11. To Mark:

    Is there a chart of projected to actual EAV over say a 10 year span for each district?

    Yes, before the Budget comes out, the Board posts a budget projection.

    When the budget comes out they take it down.

    I had printed out the ones from 2011-12 and 2015-16.

    So I was able to send Cal scanned copies.

    he didn’t post them maybe because they were blurry?

    I never saw any for D158, wasn’t looking.

    Here is the data from the EAV projections, line 3. on the page entitled “Budget Planning Parameters and Assumptions”:

    (2011-2012) (ACTUAL EAV’s) 2007: $1,079,581,827 2008: $1,128,047,545 2009: $1,117,370,497

    (USED FOR THAT BUDGET YEAR OF 2011-12) 2010: $1,066,023,673

    (PROJECTED EAV’s for 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15,&2015-16) 2011: $980,741,779 2012: $1,000,356,615
    2013: $1,040,370,879 2014: $1,081,985,715

    Then, from THIS year’s 2015-2016 “Budget Planning Parameters and Assumptions”:

    (ACTUAL) 2011: $953,072,406 2012: $843,158,926 2013: $758,268,063

    (USED FOR THIS BUDGET YEAR OF 2015-16) 2014:$719,395,330

    (PROJECTED EAV’s for 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19,&2019-20) 2015: $726,589,283 2016: $744,754,015
    2017: $774,544,176 2018: $805,525,943

  12. This is a good time to point out that ‘residential booms’ must produce residential units of a price which at some property tax rate within a competitive range of the national average pay a ‘break-even’ amount into the schools and other taxing bodies…otherwise tax rates leap even higher for the existing residential units…driving values of those units still lower, and raising rates on ALL units within the taxing region…in a continual negative feedback loop.

    (Why does the relative property tax rate of Woodstock (5%) to the property tax rate average in America (1.5%) matter?

    (Because in the competition for homebuyers able to qualify for conventional mortgages, a property tax rate more than 300% of the potential buyers’ other choices is a severe handicap).

    To quantify the price of ‘breakeven’ taxation for a new residential unit:

    Woodstock D200 is taxing about $9,300 per pupil annually. (levy/enrollment).
    Housing units average about 2.8 persons and about 20% of population is between 5 and 18 (school-aged).
    (US Census Quick Facts).

    2.8 x .20= .56 students per housing unit.

    .56 x $9300= $5208.
    (Each new housing unit can be expected to produce an annual school tax burden starting at $5208)

    So that means any new housing unit must generate $5208 school tax to breakeven, plus another amount to pay all other local taxing districts empowered to levy property tax.

    If we use rule of thumb that schools account for 66% of our total property tax bill, we arrive at an additional $2604 for the other taxing bodies, making a grand total of $7812 needed from a new housing unit in order to break even.

    Residential accounts for over 80% of EAV in D200, so $6,250.

    One may wonder, what about new non-residential development?

    Logically there will be none (unless it is non-contributory such as tif or enterprise zone or given abatements), because what kind of fool would build tax-paying commercial property in a 5% effective tax rate environment?

    How does a new residential unit pay its fair share (breakeven) of the new social service provision it generates?

    At $6250, and the current 5% property tax rate, the unit would have to be valued $125000.

    But 5% property tax rate is unsupportable, it is a death spiral, it is over 300% national average.
    Homebuyers of $125,000 value homes would not likely willingly afford $6,250 annual cost of carry ($5350 with full homestead exemption) and looking to rise annually as the negative feedback loop pressure continues.

    New development would have to be priced much much higher, such that the blend of new taxable value with older devalued properties would start to LOWER the local tax rate.

    But who wants to be the first to build a $200-$300,000 home when the tax rates TODAY are 5%??

  13. Re: “But who wants to be the first to build a $200-$300,000 home when the tax rates TODAY are 5%??”
    Exactly. Just look at WHAT IS being built south of Menards.

  14. Illinois School Report Cards cite the graduation rate of D200 as 94%, and D158 as 89%.

    Rather than being a source of pride, I find this stat appalling.

    Because, the next stat is College Readiness.
    The College Ready percentage for D200 is cited as 46%.
    (69% for D158).

    It sounds like the old ‘Fill ’em and Bill ’em’ strategy, and does not support the assertion that concern for student’s ultimate outcome is a prime objective.

  15. Right Susan, those are crappy statistics. For the dollars we’re paying in real estate taxes the results should be a hell of a lot better!

  16. For budgets track the forecast & actual on a spreadsheet over time.

    Since the forecasts are projected out multiple years here’s an example:

    FY 2013 Actual – FY 2013 Forecast in FY 2013 – FY 2013 Forecast in FY 2012 – FY 2013 Forecast in FY 2011.

    Ask them to add the deleted information back on the website and to stop deleting financial information from the website, instead, indefinitely archive the information, as it is technically easy to do so, and disk storage is cheap.

  17. The title suggests that the Board is using these numbers in the budget planning process
    “Budget Planning Parameters and Assumptions”

    The reality of year after year after year after year of grossly inaccurate Equalized Assessed Value Projections (without input from the County Assessor) imply strongly that the economic health of the community being taxed is NOT a factor taken into consideration by school Board during the budget planning process.
    Consider the inexorable increased spending, borrowing, hiring the board has approved over several years of wildly inaccurate EAV Projections:

    (from 2011-2012“Budget Planning Parameters and Assumptions”)
    (ACTUAL EAV’s)
    2007: $1,079,581,827
    2008: $1,128,047,545
    2009: $1,117,370,497

    (USED FOR THAT BUDGET YEAR OF 2011-12)
    2010: $1,066,023,673

    (PROJECTED EAV’s for 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15,&2015-16)
    2011: $980,741,779
    2012: $1,000,356,615
    2013: $1,040,370,879
    2014: $1,081,985,715

    Then, from THIS year’s 2015-2016 “Budget Planning Parameters and Assumptions”:

    (ACTUAL EAV)
    2011: $953,072,406 PROJECTED IN 2012: 2011: $980,741,779
    2012: $843,158,926 PROJECTED IN 2012: 2012: $1,000,356,615
    2013: $758,268,063 PROJECTED IN 2012: 2013: $1,040,370,879

    (USED FOR THIS BUDGET YEAR OF 2015-16)
    2014:$719,395,330 PROJECTED IN 2012: 2014: $1,081,985,715

    (PROJECTED EAV’s for 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19,&2019-20)
    2015: $726,589,283
    2016: $744,754,015
    2017: $774,544,176
    2018: $805,525,943

  18. Susan,

    Regarding the continued over-projection of EAV growth by the district, it is important to note that all during this time frame (2010-15) the district actively refunded many of their outstanding bonds.

    As part of that process each time, they retained the use of PMA Securities to advise and, I believe, perform the underwriter function in marketing the new bonds.

    PMA and other municipal finance related companies work closely with the area assessors to understand where EAV’s are headed in the near term for each community/customer.

    I can envision no circumstance where the D200 Finance staff was not aware that the municipal finance industry expected continued EAV erosion for D200 during this time horizon.

    I’m not a fan of PMA, but even they could not have been under any illusion that would have them under any mindset that D200 faced anything other than EAV declines through 11-12-13-14-15, nor would they have used any financial documents projecting growth.

    So, if the D200 Finance staff had been using EAV increases in its forecasts, they had ample evidence at the time indicating the opposite.

  19. Interesting.

    So at the very beginning of the algorithm to determine motives of those empowered to destructively tax:

    Don’t Know/Don’t Care

    ‘Don’t Know’ has been determined, and cured.

    ‘Don’t Care’ leads to question:

    Why?

    Answer seems to fall into 2 categories (can you think of other reasons? I cannot):

    Influences Not To Care:

    Threats/Inducements

    If threats, we citizens must step up and offer to put ourselves out to protect board members from threats.

    If inducements, we citizens should stop being naïve and childlike in our expectations of ‘honorable’ behavior.

    There are legal means of inducing human organisms who occupy positions of control of vast sums of public money (D200 annual budget exceeds $100 million) to direct that spending one way or another.

    The evidence of the past decade’s spending pattern indicates that citizens need to step up and offer (legal) concrete monetary inducements to humans in a position to control public money cash flow, in order to survive the tax-taking choices of those humans.

    For example, the known effect of 4% property tax rate is to engender a 5% tax rate, and so on. The known effect of high property taxes is to depress the property values further in that area.

    Where can a human profit from setting this spiral into motion?

    For one example, by purchasing foreclosed properties at fire-sale prices, an investor can make great profits. Homes in Woodstock rent out at around $1400/month. A home purchased well below $100,000 in a foreclosure creates a fabulous rate of return, even taking into account $5000 per $100,000 of home value property taxes.

    Are any persons empowered to decide school levy investing in local residential real estate?

    I don’t know, and even if they are, it is legal.

    But they COULD, so if we citizens want to grow up and behave proactively to save ourselves from the destructive power of this group of empowered humans, we should offer them, through whatever legal means possible, a monetary inducement to offset the monetary inducements they now have available, which may be influencing their school budget decisions.

  20. Here is a list of line item expenditures over $2500 by D200 on 2014 Annual Statement Of Affairs taken from ISBE website.

    After cursory examination I have questions about several expenditures.

    Maybe other citizens will have other questions.

    Remember, this is a school spending far above average per pupil, and levying such that the tax rate in their community, Woodstock, is now 5% of total home value –15% of EAV.

    Payments over $2,500 excluding wages and salaries
    1:1 Online Tutoring 21,705.67
    24/7 Educate Online 9,138.77
    A.A. Anderson, Inc. 2,967.85
    Accerated Rehabilitation C 46,000.00
    Action Athletic Equipment, 7,348.00
    Affiliated ENT Physicans 11,387.01
    Airgas 2,647.03
    Alcazar, Hugo 5,520.00
    Alexian Brthrs Bhvrl Hlth 13,640.00
    Amazon 30,476.97
    American Buildng Services, 9,440.00
    Ameriglass & Mirror 2,776.13
    AMSan 194,179.53
    Apex Lamps 4,034.10
    Apple Creek Flowers 2,660.00
    Apple Inc. 10,396.00
    Aramark Uniform Services I 112,389.09
    Arthur J. Gallagher 12,806.00
    Assoc Electrical Contracto 12,634.05
    AT&T 21,164.66
    ATS Project Success 2,773.12
    Auralog, Inc. 4,990.00
    A-Zoo-to-You, Inc. 2,502.50
    B & H Photo Video 6,906.18
    B & J Small Engine Repair 3,538.86
    B&K Power Equipment, Inc. 4,794.43
    Babbage Net School 3,639.84
    Baker, Alex 2,580.00
    Bank of New York Mellon 3,585.69
    Baum Sign Inc. 3,600.00
    Bedford, Freeman & Worth P 9,000.69
    Belnick Incorporated 4,898.60
    BMO Harris Bank N.A. 543,931.71
    Borys, Sandy 33,337.50
    Botts Welding & Truck Serv 10,604.31
    BrightStar Online, LLC 6,625.80
    Brucker Company 12,593.40
    Bug Man Inc. 6,601.00
    Business Software, Inc. 5,024.52
    C.E.S. 9,576.53
    Call One 85,955.40
    Camelot Education-Hoffman 13,217.18
    Campion Curran Lamb Cunaba 8,302.50
    Campus Agendas 4,471.20
    Canto, Melissa 2,580.00
    Capstone Press 5,251.28
    Carlson Fire Protection, I 5,239.00
    Carquest of Woodstock 5,307.10
    Caserno, Michael 46,190.00
    Cengage Learning 23,839.15
    Centegra Health Systems 14,991.44
    Center Point Energy Servic 459,172.26
    Central States Bus Sales, 20,291.51
    Century Springs 2,946.85
    Challenger Learning Center 7,735.00
    Chapman & Cutler LLP 5,000.00
    Chemsearch 2,677.51
    Chicago Bus Sales-Parts 57,941.45
    Cirilo, Luis 5,881.73
    City Of Woodstock 126,271.84
    Classic Concrete Concepts 10,310.00
    Clinicare Corporation 9,298.14
    CLM Group Inc 3,987.00
    Club Z! Inc. 5,325.19
    College Board, MRO 3,401.80
    Comcast 110,363.13
    Committee for Children 3,020.00
    Compass Learning Inc 26,271.00
    Concept 3 Environmental P. 8,315.82
    Conserv FS, Inc. 169,876.99
    Constructive Playthings 2,659.99
    Cooper, Steven 2,587.09
    Crescent Electric Supply C 22,941.20
    Crest/Good Mfg. Co. Inc. 8,981.52
    CRS, Inc. 8,674.41
    Cruise Boiler & Repair Co 11,828.00
    Cummins Npower Llc 50,473.36
    Curran Contracting Co. 262,864.01
    DAI Environmental 15,731.60
    Dance Sophisticates 4,227.00
    Delaware Electric Co.Inc. 6,500.00
    Dell Computer Corp 235,404.67
    Delta Education 3,378.18
    Demco Inc 3,519.14
    Diaz, Monica 2,802.69
    Discount School Supply 12,867.48
    Donald O’Connor 81,600.00
    Don’s Welding & Fabricatin 12,294.99
    Dual Language Ed/New Mexic 2,673.00
    Dwights Auto Body 4,201.03
    Easypermit Postage 8,201.36
    ECRA Group Incorporated 72,629.67
    Edmentum 3,931.25
    Education Associates 8,009.90
    EduPlus, LLC 4,638.06
    Edward Stauber 3,253.50
    Elgin Key & Lock Co. Inc. 3,874.79
    Empowerment Learning Servi 9,139.33
    Evans Marshall And Pease P 30,000.00
    Excavating Concepts Inc. 6,750.00
    F. E. Moran, Inc. 7,415.72
    Femal, Katherine 3,870.00
    Flaghouse Inc. 4,178.28
    Follett 68,957.67
    Fox Frame Shop 2,734.50
    Fox River Foods Inc. 680,168.19
    Fox Valley Fire & Safety 3,498.55
    Frisbie, Martha 6,900.00
    Frontier 3,786.40
    G & K Services 3,179.69
    G W Berkheimer Company Inc 3,618.67
    Garaventa Lift 2,575.00
    Garin-Luengo, Sara 2,925.13
    Gateway Center for Educati 7,995.21
    Gavers Automotive Service 10,484.00
    Geo R Breber Music Co Inc 7,515.11
    Gethner, Melissa 3,870.00
    Gewalt Hamilton Associates 57,031.36
    GHA Technologies, Inc. 57,734.94
    Glass Barn, The 3,619.73
    Gopher 4,623.93
    Grace Lutheran Church 5,000.00
    Graco 3,314.24
    Grainger 14,173.03
    Gray Manufacturing Company 4,407.00
    Great Lakes Elevator Servi 12,480.13
    Grell, Jonathon 2,580.00
    Groot Industries, Inc. 33,519.94
    Hartmann Signs Inc 3,800.00
    Hastings Asphalt Services 3,212.00
    Havens, Courtney 2,525.71
    Haydysch, Katie 3,225.00
    Heartspring 237,900.95
    Heineman 11,919.28
    Heritage Food Service 3,212.77
    Hernando-Freile, Alvaro 2,942.48
    HES 16,259.97
    HM Receivables II, LLC 6,976.40
    Hodges Loizzi Eisenhammer 80,468.13
    Honeywell Building Solutio 12,945.86
    Huffar, Julie 2,580.00
    HYA Executive Search Div. 10,824.79
    IASB 10,862.00
    IASSW 5,005.00
    Ill Dept Of Employment Sec 31,087.52
    Illinois School Services I 3,105.38
    Indepth Graphics & Printin 16,560.96
    Infobase Learning 6,300.00
    Infor (US), Inc. 73,138.14
    Inland Power Group 30,597.44
    Interstate Battery Systems 16,545.97
    IPad Tutoring 14,262.64
    ISBE 194,605.57
    ISDLAF PLUS 775,114.00
    IXL Learning 2,680.00
    J.H. Barkau & Sons, Inc. 11,526.00
    Jaeger, Ashlee 2,580.00
    James Hastings 23,848.51
    James McGrath 6,392.77
    Jensens Plumbing & Heating 19,156.17
    Jodee Blanco Group, The 3,500.00
    Justice, Jessie 5,613.85
    Kaplan Early Learning Comp 4,735.13
    Kelley Williamson Company 25,477.77
    Kempster Keller & Lenz-Cal 6,910.00
    KIS 157,626.50
    Kleen Air Service Corporat 5,170.00
    Knox Company 3,546.00
    Kurtz, Suzanne 4,551.00
    Laidig, Shannon 5,520.00
    Lakeshore Learning Materia 8,973.96
    Langton Group 152,478.34
    Lanter Distributing c/o OH 14,150.48
    LaptopBatteryStore.com 4,789.15
    Leach Enterprises Inc. 39,198.24
    Learning A-Z 4,629.85
    LGMC Leadership 4,075.00
    Libertyville Tile & Carpet 4,331.94
    Lighting Services LLC 3,188.85
    Lintner Automotive 10,028.50
    Loyola Retreat & Ecology 3,650.00
    LUDA 4,250.00
    Maltese, Regan 2,580.00
    Manke, Shari 3,870.00
    Mankoff Industries Inc. 5,072.25
    Mansfield Oil Company 516,826.49
    Manusos General Contractin 28,048.22
    Marengo Auto Body & Glass 34,631.50
    McHenry County Collector 2,905.26
    McHenry County College 9,950.00
    McMaster-Carr Supply Compa 3,056.63
    McQuay International 8,502.00
    McQueen, Greg 2,995.00
    Memorial Medical Center 3,730.25
    Menards 25,479.87
    Metalmaster/Roofmaster, In 2,750.00
    Metro Professional Prods. 8,781.18
    Meyer Material Company 3,660.00
    MHC Software Inc. 4,767.80
    MidAmerican Energy Company 1,060,772.49
    Midland Paper 78,878.20
    Midwest Transit Equipment 34,396.50
    Montes, Tonya 5,766.40
    Movie Licensing USA 3,886.75
    Mugica de la Cruz, David 2,947.88
    Muller-Pinehurst Dairy Inc 198,641.35
    Music & Arts 3,445.95
    NAPA Auto Parts 12,835.30
    NASCO 3,142.79
    Newman Pools, Inc. 3,223.30
    News-2-You 2,947.52
    Nicor Gas 17,028.60
    Northwest Evaluation Assoc 68,750.00
    Novell, Inc 31,986.70
    Oconomowoc Devlpmntl Train 129,842.76
    Odyssey Ware 41,000.00
    Office Depot Inc. 7,009.60
    Orange County Dept Educa 8,710.40
    Outdoor Recreation Inc 2,799.69
    Patten CAT Industries 11,581.12
    PC & MacExchange 6,858.16
    Peaceful Playgrounds 4,478.88
    Pearson Education 35,705.17
    Pedersen, Kathryn 2,580.00
    Pella Windows & Dorrs, Inc 7,146.00
    Perez-Estruch, Nuria 5,699.25
    Petri-Serrano, Raul 2,898.99
    Piller, Brooke 2,760.00
    Pintado, Jesus 2,851.49
    Pioneer Center 12,137.00
    Pitney Bowes Inc 3,917.25
    PMA Financial Network, Inc 9,000.00
    Prairie Ridge High School 7,200.00
    Prestige Capital Corporati 17,294.00
    Pro Com Systems 4,685.30
    Pro Ed Edmark 3,611.30
    Project Lead the Way 14,981.00
    Pyramid Educational Consul 11,129.60
    Rainbow Book Company 3,576.66
    Ralphs General Rent-All In 5,271.13
    Rauland, Alexendra 5,721.63
    Rausch, Christopher 2,580.00
    Read Naturally 2,617.50
    Really Good Stuff 6,605.37
    Regional Office of Educati 11,000.00
    Rex Radiator & Welding 3,293.00
    Riddell 22,200.55
    Rifton 2,823.75
    Rochester 100 Inc 3,128.75
    Rockford Board of Educatio 5,894.25
    Ruiz De Leon, Beatriz 2,911.37
    Rush Truck Centers of IL, 177,801.84
    Sax Arts & Crafts 6,159.73
    Scantron Corporation 3,919.24
    Scholastic 11,885.11
    School Bus Parts Co. 4,414.26
    School District 200-Impres 84,943.58
    School Health Corporation 17,805.07
    School Specialty 36,221.21
    SchoolDude.com 5,193.00
    Schulty, Nikole 3,225.00
    Scope Shoppe,The 2,677.49
    SEDOM 74,148.40
    Serpe, Lindsey 3,501.93
    Set Environmental, Inc. 6,036.44
    Shred-it USA-Chicago 4,512.41
    Siemens Industry, Inc 30,853.90
    Signet Pavement Supply 6,206.75
    SimplexGrinnell 10,095.03
    Sonitrol Chicagoland West 2,940.00
    Southeastern Apparel 7,158.30
    Sovereign Leasing, LLC 137,730.00
    Sportdecals Inc 11,956.39
    SREB 3,000.00
    Stans Office Technologies 221,673.41
    Staples Advantage 39,860.56
    Star Total Print Solutions 3,839.00
    Streamwood Behavior Health 4,095.00
    Sun Life Financial 11,540.95
    Sunair Systems 8,700.00
    Sunbelt Staffing 18,500.00
    Sunguard Public Sector Inc 131,708.08
    Sylvan Learning/McHenry Co 21,183.98
    T & J Printing Supply 5,578.08
    Teacher Created Materials 3,840.81
    Teacher Direct 3,227.03
    Telcom Innovation Group 26,867.10
    Terminal Supply Company 5,304.86
    Testing Service Corp 4,070.45
    Thompson, Steven T. 2,580.00
    Tierney Brothers Inc. 21,872.00
    Time Business Systems, Inc 2,933.00
    TimsWeb 2,630.00
    Toledo Pe Supply Co 2,897.06
    Toner Warehouse 7,965.96
    Total Fire & Safety Inc. 6,165.00
    Trane 11,412.11
    Tremco 4,325.50
    Turning Point, Inc. 5,000.00
    Tutoria con Ipads 2,944.80
    Tyler Technologies 4,545.74
    Uline 5,345.60
    United Art & Education 8,443.91
    United Laboratories Inc. 2,761.50
    Unitrends 4,418.00
    University of Illinois 4,311.00
    Upbeat Inc. 2,524.57
    Utilityhelp.org 27,224.15
    Van’s Enterprises, Ltd. 14,715.00
    Vazquez-Diaz, Maria 2,861.75
    Verastegui, Irma 2,760.00
    Verizon Wireless 50,834.76
    Vista Higher Learning 5,940.20
    Wal Mart Community & Busin 13,971.81
    Walker, Anthony 2,580.00
    Ward’s Natural Science 3,303.36
    Wayne’s Lanes 15,000.00
    Wayside Publishing 2,687.68
    Webroot Inc. 38,912.00
    WHS Graphics Department 2,940.14
    Wicker, Wendy 6,288.33
    Wingfoot Commercial Tire 57,181.34
    WJE 12,021.40
    Woodstock Auto Trim 2,580.00
    Woodstock High School Imp 31,410.34
    Woodstock Independent 3,389.35
    Woodstock Lumber Co. 25,138.98
    Woodstock North Imprest H. 47,792.51
    World Security & Control I 19,116.00
    Zep Manufacturing Co 3,150.62
    Zozaya, Isabel 3,064.97

    Questions:
    1. Over $250,000 spending on online tutors. Federal spending for online tutoring is capped, so some or all of this is charged to taxpayers.

    Niles-based Babbage Net School is listed recipient of D200 funds.

    Google search of Babbage Net School returns headline:

    “Niles-Based Education Firms and Executives Indicted in Alleged $33 Million Fraud
    Bribes Allegedly Paid to Four School Officials”

    https://www.fbi.gov/chicago/press-releases/2014/niles-based-education-firms-and-executives-indicted-in-alleged-33-million-fraud

    Why are teachers, other students, and adult volunteers not pressed into tutoring service?

    Why is this an additional, significant taxpayer burden?

    2. LGMC (Leadership Greater McHenry County?) received $4075 of taxpayer funds. Why?

    3. Loyola Retreat & Ecology (a private resort in Woodstock) received $3650 taxpayer funds. Why?

    4. Wayne’s Lanes (local bowling alley?) received $15,000. Why?

    5. Sovereign Leasing LLC (a corporate shopping membership service?). Why?

    6. Kempster Keller & Lenz-Cal got paid $6910. Practice areas are listed as Immigration, Deportation Defense, Naturalization & Citizenship. Is this school district paying legal bills on behalf of students?

    7. Jodee Blanco Group was paid $3500. Here is description of her services from her website:
    Our company is comprised of three divisions:

    Co-Authoring of Books and Consulting Services for Authors and Publishers

    Public Relations and Publicity Consulting—provides comprehensive, tailor-designed consulting packages for a broad range of individual and corporate clients

    Motivational Speaker Training and Consulting—offers a series of custom services for anyone interested in breaking into the professional speaking circuit or generating speaking engagements to grow their business

  21. I’ll take a stab at it:

    Wayne’s Lanes are for the high school bowling teams.

    Sovereign Leasing LLC is probably for bus leases.

    Jodee Blanco Group I’m guessing was some type of professional development speaking arrangement.

    You’ll drive yourself crazy looking at all the small stuff like Apple Creek Flowers 2,660.00, focus on the big numbers.

    This one pops out: Aramark Uniform Services I 112,389.09.

    I’m assuming this is for the food svcs and/or janitorial staff.

    They may also perform other services.

    If its for uniforms only, its a complete waste of money.

    You can FOIA their invoices.

    Also Verizon Wireless for $50,834.76?

    How many cell phones do they have and why is this bill so high?

    They don’t consolidate their purchasing power because they buy supplies all over the place: Amazon, Grainger, Menards, Uline, Walmart, Staples, Toner Warehouse, etc.

    I’m very curious about this one: Sunguard Public Sector Inc 131,708.08 maybe for student records management?

  22. **I’m very curious about this one: Sunguard Public Sector Inc 131,708.08 maybe for student records management?**

    Google is your friend.

    Its a software company that specialized in public sector/government software.

    It could be student record software, it could be finance/HR software, it could be a lot of things.

    **Also Verizon Wireless for $50,834.76? How many cell phones do they have and why is this bill so high?**

    Doesn’t seem that high to me.

    That’s $4,200/month. Lets assume that each school has 2 smart phones (13 schools) and 10 people in district office have smart phones.

    That’s 36 phones, for a total of $117/month. 2 phones/school and 10 people in the district office seems too low.

    So that’s $117/month total, which would include phone and data.

    Or, maybe they bought 50 iPads at $350/piece.

    That would be a low price, and would be $17,500 of that.

    ** Aramark Uniform Services … If its for uniforms only, its a complete waste of money.**

    My guess is that it would, at minimum, be there laundering service for all their cafeterias.

    This would include towels/rags/aprons/etc.

    That $112k would be less than $1k per month per school.

  23. My point is that if you went through each expense, and got details, I would guess that they are ALL valid.

    Sitting here pasting random numbers, and complaining about them as if you know what you’re talking about, is not very helpful.

  24. My point is, that this school board has a duty to go through each of the expenses and not only ensure validity, but find ways to cut those expenses.

    When you are the prime driver in a 5% property tax rate district, at a time when the rest of America is paying 1.5%, the rest of the State is paying near 2%, you have a deeper responsibility for due diligence.

    When you are the prime driver in stripping an additional 10% of median household budgets from families, compared to the average property tax percentage-of-household-budget expenditure across America, how do you justify funding Bowling, while denying all those families the discretionary funds to take their own children bowling.

    Back to $250,000 online tutoring.

    What are teachers’ responsibility?

    Isn’t tutoring part of the job?

    Is Babbage Net School the only one receiving funds from D200 under inditement for bribery?

    Donation to LGMC.

    Why?

    Maybe Woodstock citizens would rather decide on their own who should get charitable donations.

    Loyola Retreat.

    Who went on a retreat?

    Why?

    Was it properly recognized as a taxable fringe benefit?

    And again, WHY would taxpayers be funding such frivolity when the community is in desperate economic straits, due to 5% property tax rates?

    Sovereign Leasing LLC.

    I did not get bus leasing hit on a Google search, I did get Corporate Shopping.

    But there have been a LOT of bonds issued to BUY buses.

    Do we own or lease?

    Kempster Keller & Lenz-Cal.

    Are we paying legal fees on behalf of students?

    Jodee Blanco Group.

    Why pay consultants to teach children if we are paying teachers so much to teach children?

  25. My point is that source-cited reference show that schools as close as Huntley, as well as across America (seer Peer Comparison tool on https://nces.ed.gov/EDFIN/)
    have accomplished the same or better mediocre results for FAR LESS COST PER PUPIL.

    The only way to discover whether the expense paid are warranted, or ‘legitimate’, or meant to replace legitimate tasks that teachers and admin SHOULD be performing, or simply poshy fringe benefits that are delightful whims of employees, is by scrutiny.

    If scrutiny had been taking place before now, we would not have a 5% property tax rate, the school would not be demanding that additional 10% of household income over and above national average be paid in Woodstock property taxes.

  26. Susan,

    You are right.

    The whole point of the law compelling districts to report their payments is to provide more public transparency and accountability.

    Its supposed to arm citizens with information to question those that spend taxpayer money and then have the board justify that expense. i.e. What’s the rationale for paying for 30-40 cell phones?

    Why can’t these employees be called on their own cell phones?

    Can you please provide the educational return on investment for this $50K annual expense?

    As to the Aramark expense, its certainly part of the puzzle why the Food Service function is so expensive and loses money for the district.

    One of the things that disturbs me about the D200 Annual Statement of Affairs Vendor Payments submission data is that it is incomplete.

    Notice that it is missing any payments related to debt service.

    That’s about a $10-$11 million omission.

    That results in all of their ASA submissions failing to be in compliance with 105 ILCS 5/10-17.

    Additionally, after having reviewed most of the other McHenry County districts’ ASA submissions (3, 15, 26, 46, 47, 50, 155, 156, 158) D200 routinely omits all payroll-related vendor payments whereas the other districts typically post all of those payments. (i.e. Ill Dept of Rev, US Treasury, TRS, IMRF, Insurance Benefits administrators, etc.)

    Side note to D15 management:

    you may have a data problem as you are showing over $36.2 million paid to Fox River Foods which seems hard to believe, unless the kids are getting fresh caviar flown in from Russia every day.

  27. Those are very important observations.
    I completely missed the payment omissions.

    It really helps to have fresh eyes on this problem.

    What we are all working together to accomplish is finding ways to reduce the budget and offer relief to taxpayers.

    Looking at other schools who manage on much lower budgets is a good place to start.

  28. Can the EAV lists be reorganized by Year.

    For instance.

    FY 2013 Actual
    FY 2013 Forecast made in FY 2013
    FY 2013 Forecast made in FY 2012
    FY 2013 Forecast made in FY 2011.

    In other words put all 2013 EAV, forecast (projected) & actual, in 1 thread.

    Then one can get a sense over time if the forecast is bigger than actual.

  29. You can ask the district to explain the vendor payments and if they won’t then foia the invoices or documents.

  30. But before submitting a FOIA read up on the FOIA rules and contact the Better Government Association or Citizens Advocacy Center (Elmhurst) with any questions.

    Some districts if they can will deny a FOIA request for all sorts of reasons.

    Other districts are more cooperative and transparent.

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