About a decade after ending up on the Illinois State Board of Education’s financial watchlist, Lincoln-Way District 210 officials said the district has fully recovered and they are set to approve the budget for the 2025-2026 school year.
Michael Duback, the district’s assistant superintendent of business, said the current board instituted policies to ensure the district remains fiscally conservative, compared to neighboring districts. They include ensuring district fund balances hover between 33% and 35% of the district’s annual spending, while the state encourages balances of between 15% and 20%.
“Lincoln-Way does more with less,” Duback said.
The district reported in May an improved bond rating of AA- from firm S&P Global, a return to its highest rating ever, Duback said.
The improved rating allowed the district to sell life safety bonds and issue debt certificates in the spring to fund necessary HVAC replacements at Lincoln-Way Central and Lincoln-Way East and the purchase of new school buses. Duback said the district plans to bid out the HVAC work this month but estimates it will cost about $30 million.
Restructuring almost $130 million in bond debt in 2022 has helped district taxpayers pay millions less over time and saved the district $24.5 million in annual principal and interest up until the debt load retires in 2035.
“Stable is a good word,” Duback said about the district’s finances. “Where we have come is incredible.”
In 2015, the district landed on the Illinois State Board of Education’s financial watch list, indicating the state board’s concern about the district’s financial health. The following year, the district moved to close Lincoln-Way North to cut expenses.
The district’s financial straits led to the federal indictment in 2017 of former Superintendent Lawrence Wyllie, who retired in 2013 and was accused of misspending millions in bond proceeds and spending district funds on personal projects. However, federal prosecutors dismissed the charges last June, citing Wyllie’s ongoing health issues.
Wyllie continues to collect a taxpayer funded pension that in 2020 was more than $351,000, and grows annually to account for cost-of-living increases, according to state records.
Duback said the fiscal year 2026 budget set for board approval on Thursday reflects the district’s commitment to controlled spending and strategic planning. The district expects to generate about $155 million in total revenues, a 3.5% increase from the previous year, while spending about $163 million, a 7% increase from the previous year.
Lincoln-Way, like many other districts, is contending with an expected drop in federal funding, though Superintendent Scott Tingley said changes at the national level won’t hit District 210 as hard as others. The district only receives 2% of revenue from the United States government, while 80% is covered by property taxes and other local revenue.
“We have some flexibility in terms of that federal funding, because we simply don’t rely on federal funds,” Tingley said, adding that he believes the current budget is “in a very good place.”
According to the district’s budget presentation, the district is preparing for a 8% drop in federal revenues due to the end of COVID-19 era American Rescue Plan funding and lower Title I and Title II grant allocations, resulting in about $2.5 million less funding overall. State revenues are expected to provide revenue increases between $2 million and $16 million while local revenues are expected to increase 3.66% to 102.6 million.
Employee salaries represent about 60% of the tentative budget, purchased services represent about 12%, benefits represent about 11% and supplies and materials represent about 10%, according to a district presentation on the budget.
The board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the budget alongside its regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at Lincoln-Way Central High School, 1801 East Lincoln Highway, New Lenox.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com