By Nuha Abdessalam
Palos District 118 is seeking voter approval on Tuesday to move money from one fund to another to pay for unfunded state mandates.
Supt. Anthony M. Scarsella addressed citizens and Palos Heights aldermen during the city council meeting on March 5 and explained what the district wants to do.
He said unfunded state mandates threatened the district’s “future success,” so voters are being asked to approve moving $4.35 million from the debt service fund to its operating fund to address financial challenges posed by the mandates.
He said voting for the transfer would neither increase or decrease property taxes. The tax rate would go down in the debt service fund and go up in the operating fund.
A big reason for the request is the latest requirement for districts to offer free, full-day kindergarten with no funding from Springfield.
Scarsella described the numerous educational mandates passed by the General Assembly in Springfield that have placed further financial hurdles on District 118.
“We’re here seeking voter approval due to the constant onslaught of unfunded mandates from Springfield and Washington, D.C.”
Scarsella said that since 1982, the General Assembly has sent 699 mandates to local school districts. District 118 has only fully funded four mandates.
“District 118 has and is forced to pick up the cost of all those unfunded mandates at a local level, placing a significant strain on our operating budget,” he said.
Scarsella said the cost of unfunded state and federal mandates increased from approximately $2.4 million in 2012 to $6 million in 2023.
“We’ve been spending cash reserves since 2017 to pay for these unfunded mandates and maintain existing programs and services,” Scarsella said.
“If approved, this shift will provide financial stability for the next generation of Palos 118 students,” he said.
For a full explanation of the referendum, visit https://www.palos118.org/referendum or contact Questions@Palos118.org.