Budget Status

We are still waiting for final budget figures from the state. Although Governor Blagojevich signed a budget a couple of weeks ago, we have yet to receive any funds for the new school year from the state. It is likely that this will continue at least for another week since neither legislative body has met for a while. Without a BIMP (Budget Implementation Plan) in place, no moneys will flow to local school districts. General State Aide payments have been vouchered but will be issued at last year’s level until the BIMP is in place. This places public schools in a quandary, as our budget will need to be filed by the last Tuesday of September for the 2007-2008 school year. We have spent a great deal of time developing our budget for the coming year and have figures firmly in place in the revenue side of the budget. Due to the uncertainty of the level of new state funding, we have held funding for categorical aide at the FY 06 level, although we expect to receive modest increases in state funds should a BIMP be passed soon.

Hopefully, we will see renewed energy in Springfield this week. The House is scheduled to hold “perfunctory” sessions all next week so there is a potential for some legislative action. How much longer will the state accept this battle of wills as the Governor continues to attempt to move his personal agenda forward against the will of the legislative branch of government? Financially this posturing has put the state in a financial mess! Enough is enough!