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Unit 5 school district leaders said Wednesday they are disappointed the education fund tax referendum did not pass on Tuesday. Superintendent Kristen Weikle tells WGLT they knew it would be a close vote, but hoped for passage to allow the district to eliminate an $11 million deficit that is growing each year.
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The central argument for a Unit 5 education fund referendum is that district revenue has not kept pace with costs since the last referendum in 2008, that the district has, in effect, squeezed all the blood it can out of the existing turnip by tightening its belt and using resources efficiently and needs help. The numbers support the case.
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The 2022-2023 budget summary shows the district spending nearly $216 million, but drawing revenue closer to $202 million. Expenses are up about 1.5% from the previous year.
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Unit 5 is asking voters for more taxing authority while promising the total tax rate would fall. The Unit 5 school board has decided to ask voters for $20.5 million more property tax dollars for its education fund. Superintendent Kristen Weikle and district business manager Marty Hickman said Unit 5 would not apply the 88-cent rate increase all at once.
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Unit 5 is facing a deficit — a big one that has been growing for years. The district is deep into a public engagement process, gathering opinions on how to deal with the structural budget problem and building public awareness of a potential referendum to address the issue.
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The Unit 5 school board expects to vote next month on whether to join a collaborative effort to create standardized incentives in the local enterprise zone.
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A virtual public information session about Unit 5’s financial crisis, and whether addressing it might include pushing for a tax hike referendum, drew about 200 attendees Tuesday night.
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Unit 5 schools have talked about a tax referendum for at least a couple of months, according to January school board finance committee minutes.
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Unit 5 leaders are looking at cutting three dozen full-time teaching positions and two administrator roles for next school year, as well as eliminating two programs — fifth-grade band/orchestra and eighth-grade foreign language — to address a multi-million dollar deficit.
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Unit 5 and District 87 schools in Bloomington-Normal are keeping kids at home for at least the next two days as a severe winter storm moves into Illinois.