Woodland panel tasked with budget recommendations

District 50 looking at $3.5 million shortfall

GURNEE -- A community taskforce is meeting to help Woodland School District 50 balance its budget.

The 62-member Financial Advisory Community Taskforce, or FACT, is midway through a seven-meeting process in which they are recommending ways the district can cut spending and generate revenue.

The district, which educates about 6,900 students in Gurnee and surrounding areas, faces a $3.5 million shortfall due to a dip in the Consumer Price Index -- which determines how much a district can levy -- declining enrollment, falling home values, and cuts in state and local funding.

"The crisis is multi-layered and very difficult to find a way out of," said Woodland School Board President Larry Gregorash.

More than half the members of the taskforce are people from outside the school, including parents and other district residents.

"We are keenly aware that 75 percent of the taxpayers in our district don't have an affiliation with our district," said Gregorash, who noted a high level of community interest and said members include "extremely qualified people able to talk about issues" and who possess "certain areas of expertise."

Agendas and minutes of each meeting are posted online at http://fact.dist50.net, and the meetings are open to the public.

"We're being extremely forthcoming with information," Gregorash said. "The community needs to know exactly what we're doing, how we got here and where we have to go. This isn't an option.

"By Illinois code, we have to balance our budget," he said. "We cannot allow ourselves to go into debt. The way you do that is judiciously managing your finances while trying every way you can to live up to your primary responsibility, which is the education of the kids."

Taskforce discussion has broached the usual -- cuts in staff and programs. But ideas for generating money are also being talked about, including pay-to-play, increasing fees, commercial sponsorships for athletics and community education.

"No decisions have been made about anything," Gregorash said. "We've been very vocal and up front with staff. We recognize there are worries. The reality is we have to come up with an offset one way or the other -- whether we reduce or we generate $3.5 million."

Taskforce ideas will be presented to the School Board on Dec. 17. The board is expected to make final budget reductions Feb. 25.