The District 200 Board of Education approved a 0 million reduction in its 2013 levy on Dec. 19.
The vote was 5-2, with board members Ralph Lee and Steve Gevinson voting against the measure.
As a result, the owner of a 00,000 home in Oak Park will save about 50 on their tax bill next year. Last Thursday’s vote came after about an hour of discussion, including an amendment offered by Gevinson to approve a ’13 levy reduction totaling about 15,000 instead of the larger tax cut.
That amendment, however, failed on a 2-5 vote with only Gevinson and Lee supporting the measure. The original motion for the 0 million cut was then called for and approved. With the reduction, the school’s 2013 levy will total roughly 5 million.
The 0 million reduction was among the options recommended by the district’s ad hoc finance advisory committee.
D200 members voting for the reduction were Tom Cofsky, Jackie Moore, Sharon Patchak-Layman, Jeff Weissglass and John Phelan.
Moore initially expressed concern about a 0 million cut and the “slingshot effect” on homeowners’ tax bills in a year or two when tax rates return to the 2012 level. Moore said a 15,000 reduction, which was also one among the Finance Advisory Commission (FAC) recommendations for the 2013 levy, would be less of a shock to taxpayers.
“I’m just thinking about the taxpayers and that while it’s nice to have that large chunk, it’s also a little jarring to go back to the previous amount,” Moore said, adding that the 15,000 option would still get the district’s large fund balance trending downward.
Weissglass said the slingshot effect on taxpayers also concerns him. But in the end, he concluded that the benefit now to property owners far outweighed any potential backlash in the future. He noted that the 0 million option would impact those residents whose taxes helped build up the fund balance.
Weissglass said he felt the 0 million cut would immediately begin the trust-building with the community that has been needed. It also fulfills the board’s desired goal of making a serious effort to begin trimming the fund balance, he added.
Lee said he would vote for a flat levy but could also support a roughly half-million-dollar decrease. Lee cautioned against cutting such a large chunk from the levy without considering its long-term financial impact on the school.
Gevinson said he struggled with his decision but ultimately decided a 0 million cut was not the right course of action. He supported going with a flat levy for one year and using that time to consider more investments in educational programs. The board could then come back in a year and reduce the levy by 0 million or even 0 million at that time.
“I don’t see any urgency to do more than signal that we’re changing direction, which is a major departure,” he said.
Gevinson added that OPRF has engaged in a level of cost-cutting in recent years that he says has hurt the district. Further cuts, he argued, would harm teacher recruitment and retention efforts, as well as services to students.
In response to Gevinson, Weissglass, who chaired the FAC, said the committee’s recommendations leave the school with a great deal of flexibility to look at educational investments in the coming year.
Cofsky, who also served on the FAC, added that education was “front and center” in the committee’s work.
The board that evening also voted to dissolve the FAC. The committee originally scheduled to meet again next spring to hammer out specific recommendations for OPRF to improve its communications to the public concerning its finances. Phelan and Weissglass both agreed that work can be taken on by the school board.
CONTACT: tdean@wjinc.com