School Budgets: An Uncertain Future WESTERN ILLINOIS (wium) - Typically you have an idea of how much money to expect on pay day. But imagine what it would be like living week-to-week not knowing how much money is coming in and whether there will be enough to pay the bills. Those who work in education in Illinois are going through just that. The state's financial problems are forcing superintendents to deal with an uncertain future.

One of those superintendents is John Meixner. He oversees the Hancock-McDonough Counties Regional office of Education. Meixner had to lay off 16 of 62 employees when the budget first came out. At that time the state had cut a number of grant funded programs his office relies on. He has since been able to call back almost all of those employees. That's because Governor Pat Quinn reallocated some money to the grant funded programs.

Meixner says his office will be able to make things work this fiscal year, but he is concerned about next fiscal year. "This year, as bad as it is, this budget has been supplemented by stimulus money," Meixner says. "So next year the stimulus money disappears. The term that's being thrown around is catastrophic."

Meixner says he is already telling his staff to have a "doomsday plan" ready for next fiscal year.

School districts are funded differently than Regional Offices of Education. ROE's are primarily grant funded. School districts receive grant funding, but also general state aid payments and transportation payments in addition to local property tax money.

On top of worrying about funding for the current fiscal year, many school districts are still waiting on transportation payments from last year. Schuyler-Industry Superintendent Matt Plater says the state owes his district one payment. He says it managed to overcome that shortfall by spending within its means.

Plater says the district has been fiscally responsible the last few years. He feels it can "weather the storm." "I'm not worried that we are going to be as a district broke after a year like this," says Plater. "But by the same token, it's going to be a deficit year. I think everybody is going to be dipping into their reserves if they have them or having to borrow money if they don't. Thank goodness we are in a position where we do have fund balances in most funds."

Plater feels this will be a year of turmoil for school districts.

On the other hand, Jonathan Heerboth remains optimistic. Heerboth is superintendent of the West Prairie School District. He anticipates the district will operate "in the black" this fiscal year. "I think that there are a lot of question marks that we have in our budget at this point," says Heerboth. "With the uncertainty of our revenue streams from state level sources a budget is a plan. What the reality will be down the line I couldn't say."

Heerboth says West Prairie reduced payroll by not replacing retirees and by changing some full-time positions to part-time.

Despite the state's budget problems, many school districts and Regional Offices are making things work. As many of the superintendents in this story say they have to make it work for the kids. © Copyright 2010, wium