School District 86 Could Face Financial Trouble: State Board of Education Report

Hinsdale Township High School District 86 has been placed on a “Financial Review” list by the Illinois State Board of Education, suggesting the district is not currently financially sound.

ISBE rates schools on their fund balance and expenditure-to-revenue ratios, the DuPage Policy Journal reported. It also evaluates schools based on their days of cash on hand and percentage of remaining long- and short-term borrowing ability.

District 86 remains in the “Financial Review” category with 23 percent of all Illinois school districts, or 196 out of the 857 total districts in the state.

The majority of schools — 66 percent, or 568 districts — were deemed fiscally comfortable and placed into the “Financial Recognition” category.

While District 86 is lower on the list, most DuPage school districts don’t follow in its footsteps, the Journal reported. Thirty-eight of the county’s 42 school districts — more than 90 percent — were categorized as financially safe by the ISBE.

The remaining 11 percent of school districts below “Financial Recognition” and “Financial Review” are “Early Warning,” which encompasses just 7 percent of all districts, and “Financial Watch,” which encompasses 4 percent.

The only school in DuPage County that was placed under financial watch was Community High School District 99. Most schools in the category are more central to Chicago and the Metro-East area.

ISBE reports that districts are increasingly "borrowing to obtain needed cash flow" and "continue to issue long-term debt to sustain day-to-day operations."
Schools are "continuing to break even or are spending more than they are realizing in revenue," the report says.

Illinois public school districts issued $307.2 million in long-term debt in fiscal year 2015 versus $356.5 million in fiscal year 2014. In 2015, 499 -- or 58 percent -- spent more money than they took in, borrowing or using taxpayer-provided reserves to cover the deficit.

ISBE began gathering financial information on schools and evaluating districts in 2003, and the practice has continued since.

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