Dr. Lynda C. Andre Superintendent's Comments for Nov. 29 School Board Meeting

Dr. Lynda C. Andre

Nov 30, 2016 4:45 AM

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SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENTS

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Dr. Lynda C. Andre
November 29, 2016

Approval of 2017-18 School Calendar

At last night’s meeting, the District 7 Board of Education approved the 2017-18 school calendar.

Highlights of the 2017-2018 school calendar include:

Begin school on Monday, August 14, 2017 (Teacher Institute)
First day of student attendance on Tuesday, August 15, 2017 (Full Day)
District 7 Teacher Institute Day – October 6, 2017, No Student Attendance
Parent Teacher Conferences on November 20, 21 and 22, 2017
Thanksgiving Break – November 23 and November 24, 2017
Last day for student attendance - end of first semester – December 20, 2017
Holiday Break – 8 days (December 21, 2017 through January 1, 2018)
Students return to school – January 2, 2018
Teacher Institute – February 16, 2018, No Student Attendance
Spring Break – March 26, 2018 through March 30, 2018
Last Day for Student Attendance – May 17, 2018
Teacher Institute – May 18, 2018
7 emergency days – May 18 through May 29 with Teachers last day May 30, 2018
High School Graduation – May 26, 2018

Update on State Funding

District 7 is currently owed over $1.3 million from the State for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.

Amounts due from the Illinois State Board of Education include:

Special Education – Private Facility Tuition $67,189.71
Special Education – Extraordinary 227,311.75
Special Education – Personnel 244,717.14
Special Education – Orphanage 57,158.79
Bilingual Education 2,415.00
State Free Lunch and Breakfast 1,539.38
Regular Transportation 295,664.68
Special Education Transportation 296,734.58
Orphanage Tuition - 18.3 110,104.61

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AMOUNT DUE $1,302,835.64

The fourth quarter categorical payments for Special Education and Transportation are approximately one-hundred, sixty- five (165) days past due.

District 7 is currently owed over $1.2 million from the State for the 2016-2017 fiscal year.

Amounts due from the Illinois State Board of Education include:

Special Education – Private Facility Tuition $86,140.81
Special Education – Extraordinary 229,504.54
Special Education – Personnel 293,900.87
Special Education – Orphanage 20,761.06
State Free Lunch and Breakfast 930.06
Regular Transportation 278,390.05
Special Education Transportation 268,493.10
Orphanage Tuition - 18.3 32,375.00

AMOUNT DUE $1,210,495.49

TOTAL AMOUNT DUE TO DISTRICT 7 FROM STATE = $2,513,331.13

As of November 28, 2016, the total backlog of all State bills is over $10.6 billion. The Illinois State Board of Education notified the District that expected categorical payments for the third and fourth quarters of the 2016-17 school year may not be released until the 2017-18 school year or at some point may be reduced or not paid.

Due to the continued delay of state payments, the District will more than likely be forced to borrow more funds, up to $5 million, earlier than expected. The District now expects to begin borrowing in April 2017 rather than June 2017 to pay bills and salaries to finish the 2016-17 school year. As a result of this earlier and additional borrowing, the District will incur more interest costs.

Board of Education Considers Placement of Education Fund Tax Rate Increase on Ballot for a Second Time

At last night’s Finance Committee meeting and regular Board of Education meeting, the Board was presented with information about the student and district impact of the decision to place or not place Proposition E before voters again during an upcoming election. Citizens may view the entire PowerPoint presentation at www.ecusd7.org.

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