Wednesday, March 15, 2006
District 300 - That’s Their Story and They’re Sticking With It
When politicians are caught in the act, so to speak, I have often heard the line,
So, we really should not be surprised when the District 300 School Board (whose members are probably being advised by tax hike referendum campaign consultants Unicom, Arc, out of St. Louis) refuses to admit that it has pretty substantially underestimated projected revenues.
The Daily Herald’s Jeffrey Gaunt put this delightful quote in his story headlined Dist. “300 denies budget cuts tactic to obtain tax increases” today:
District 300 misstated its deficit, ignoring millions sitting in its Working Cash Fund.
Its revenue projections grossly underestimated state aid to education. The Board didn’t fess up until Larry Snow blew the whistle at an Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Rotary Club meeting. (There was more found than the threatened elimination of sports and extracurricular activities would cost to re-instate.)
The 5-year projections had not one dime of income for the already approved charter school. They probably still don’t. A district spokesman blew that mistake off when the charter school’s opening was delayed by a year. The media did not point out that the state subsidies would still arrive during the five-year period. (Nor did the media point out lower expenses from not having to educate the children attending the charter school was not subtracted from the spending side of the budget.)
And, what about the lag or transition fees for Gilberts? Gilbert’s projected growth is part of the reason for the bond referendum. So why do the 5-year projections I obtained have not one dime of lag fees for Gilberts?
Or, maybe the spreadsheet has been changed in secret, just as an additional $60 million in expected assessed valuation was stuck in after Larry Snow pointed out that it was illogical to predict 7,200 new students and ignore the assessed valuation of the newly built homes where they would live. The increase in assessed value shows up every year after construction, so it’s not a one-time short in the arm.
And, oh, yes. By the way, at no time when the outside observers find extra money does the amount of new money needed decrease. There is always an extra expense that pops up.
Or, is the school district thinking of, but not wanting to mention rewarding the teachers who are walking precincts to pass the referendum? Their contract is up June 30th.
Pardon me, but I've tried to frame campaign issues as far back as 1968. Then, it was to defeat the McHenry County College bond referendum that would have put MCC on Houghton muck (a soil type suitable only for sod farming) next to Boone Creek in McHenry, where there was a faltering subdivision. I know a campaign theme when I see one. (Ours was, "The Ladd Site Is a Bad Site, Vote No December XX.")
And, I also know, when opponents of a referendum poke holes in “the script,” the best response is to deny that the opponents know what they are talking about. Can’t change the spin at the end of a campaign.
So, that explains the “same ol’, same ol’” from the District 300 folks. That’s their story and they’re sticking to it…whether or not it is true.
“That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”This is particularly true late in a campaign.
So, we really should not be surprised when the District 300 School Board (whose members are probably being advised by tax hike referendum campaign consultants Unicom, Arc, out of St. Louis) refuses to admit that it has pretty substantially underestimated projected revenues.
The Daily Herald’s Jeffrey Gaunt put this delightful quote in his story headlined Dist. “300 denies budget cuts tactic to obtain tax increases” today:
"The board is not bluffing," school board President John Court said Monday night. "We've taken this process very seriously."Usually school districts do not have competent observers willing to point out discrepancies in financial projections. This time District 300 has two of them who have gone public—District 158 school board member Larry Snow and CPA Tony Quagliano, who has a West Dundee office --plus others who would prefer not to share the abuse heaped on those two.
District 300 misstated its deficit, ignoring millions sitting in its Working Cash Fund.
Its revenue projections grossly underestimated state aid to education. The Board didn’t fess up until Larry Snow blew the whistle at an Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Rotary Club meeting. (There was more found than the threatened elimination of sports and extracurricular activities would cost to re-instate.)
The 5-year projections had not one dime of income for the already approved charter school. They probably still don’t. A district spokesman blew that mistake off when the charter school’s opening was delayed by a year. The media did not point out that the state subsidies would still arrive during the five-year period. (Nor did the media point out lower expenses from not having to educate the children attending the charter school was not subtracted from the spending side of the budget.)
And, what about the lag or transition fees for Gilberts? Gilbert’s projected growth is part of the reason for the bond referendum. So why do the 5-year projections I obtained have not one dime of lag fees for Gilberts?
Or, maybe the spreadsheet has been changed in secret, just as an additional $60 million in expected assessed valuation was stuck in after Larry Snow pointed out that it was illogical to predict 7,200 new students and ignore the assessed valuation of the newly built homes where they would live. The increase in assessed value shows up every year after construction, so it’s not a one-time short in the arm.
And, oh, yes. By the way, at no time when the outside observers find extra money does the amount of new money needed decrease. There is always an extra expense that pops up.
Or, is the school district thinking of, but not wanting to mention rewarding the teachers who are walking precincts to pass the referendum? Their contract is up June 30th.
Pardon me, but I've tried to frame campaign issues as far back as 1968. Then, it was to defeat the McHenry County College bond referendum that would have put MCC on Houghton muck (a soil type suitable only for sod farming) next to Boone Creek in McHenry, where there was a faltering subdivision. I know a campaign theme when I see one. (Ours was, "The Ladd Site Is a Bad Site, Vote No December XX.")
And, I also know, when opponents of a referendum poke holes in “the script,” the best response is to deny that the opponents know what they are talking about. Can’t change the spin at the end of a campaign.
So, that explains the “same ol’, same ol’” from the District 300 folks. That’s their story and they’re sticking to it…whether or not it is true.
Labels: District 300, Ladd, Larry Snow, McHenry County College, Spin, Tony Quagliano, Unicom, Unicom ARC
