The Hinsdale High School District 86 Board will hold a public hearing tonight on the fiscal year 2025 budget (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025), which shows projected expenses of $142.9 million and projected revenues of $141.3 million.
The $1.6 million deficit is due to expenses in the capital projects fund, which has paid for Future Ready Facilities projects approved in the 2019 referendum. The district is working to close out remaining projects and shut down the fund, Josh Stephenson, the district’s chief financial officer, wrote in a presentation to the board.
If the capital projects fund is not taken into account, the budget shows projected expenses of $141.1 million and revenues of $141.2 million, for a small surplus of about $86,000.
The majority of the district’s expenses are for salaries and benefits — totaling more than $95.3 million or 66 percent of the budget, according to budget documents.
The district has the equivalent of 619.1 full-time employees on the payroll, including 319.3 teachers, 104.8 aides/student supervisors, 82 support staff, 30 buildings and grounds employees, 29 administrators, 18 counselors, 15 social workers, 13 IT employees, five psychologists and three librarians.
Total FTES in the district has ranged from 601 in fiscal year 2020 to a high of 624.2 in fiscal year 2023. For 2024-25, the district added a head athletic trainer at each school (previously contracted out) and shifted two staff members from the aides employee group to support staff.
Other larger expense categories are $15.6 million for purchased services (11 percent of budget) and $8.5 million for capital expenses (6 percent).
Transportation and utility costs continue to outpace revenue growth, according to Stephenson, and mandated categorical reimbursements from the state, specifically for special education transportation, are not keeping pace with cost increases.
Local revenues — including property taxes — make up 93 percent of district revenues at almost $130.9 million. The district also anticipates receiving $6.5 million from the state (5 percent) and $1.6 million from the federal government (1 percent).
The Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax is expected to drop 30 percent compared to last year, according to estimates from the Illinois Department of Revenue. The district is expecting to receive almost $1.7 million, down from $2.5 million last year, Stephenson said at the Sept. 12 board meeting.
“That’s a big drop, but it is something we had been anticipating,” he said. “Historically the replacement tax has been in the $1.1 to $1.2 million range. It spiked extra high during the pandemic period, and it’s started to come back down.”
The interest rate cut recently announced by the Federal Reserve will reduce interest earnings on all liquid funds.
At the end of FY2025, the board expects to have $29.2 million in its fund balance, or almost 21 percent of annual revenues. Board policy calls for the district to maintain fund balances of 20 to 25 percent.
Preparation of the budget started in January, when work began on department-level budgets. After the board approved staffing and students made course selections, a tentative budget was prepared and came before the board in June. The finance committee reviewed updates at its meeting Aug. 14, and the document was made available for public review.
After the budget is adopted tonight, it will be submitted to the Illinois State Board of Education, the Regional Office of Education and Cook and DuPage counties.
Information about the budget can be found online at http://www.hinsdale86.diligent.community/Portal/ under the link for tonight’s meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. in the library at Hinsdale Central.
