Former Cary Grade School District 26 Board President Scott Coffey, the one who led the rescue of the school system after the teachers union ran it into the ground financially, had this to say about the financial problems of Crystal Lake School District 47:
This is entirely self-inflicted.
Aside from the obvious error of signing a labor contract that incorporates cost increases in excess of the district’s current and projected revenue increases, the district still operates a footprint of 12 attendance centers that was designed for an enrollment base of over 9,000 students when enrollment has steadily decreased by more than 20% over the last 15 years.
In 2008, enrollment was 8,861, and this year it was 7,033.
They are spending ever increasing sums to staff, operate, and maintain an ever increasingly inefficient operating structure.
But it’s more than an inefficient facilities footprint and a labor contract with escalating cost increases in excess of revenue, it’s also general staffing levels that have not adjusted downward to reflect a dramatically lowered enrollment reality.
In 2008, the district employed 655 full-time certified staff to teach 8,861 students, last year they had 676 full-time certified staff to teach 7,033 students.
Given that they are getting worse on every cost/efficiency metric, it’s no surprise that they have run into financial difficulties.
Eventually one runs out of money.
I don’t know whether their circumstance is due to incompetence or willful intent.
It’s probably a little of both depending on who you are looking at.
