Our Very Own Fiscal Cliff

I hope everyone in Minooka CCSD 201 is prepared for our very own "fiscal cliff."  Yes, the school board and the superintendent have set up a situation in which the district is purposely spending more than its revenue.  And when the district runs out, they are going to go to the taxpayers for more money.  The school board and the superintendent are going to tell the taxpayers that unless the taxpayers give the district more money, educational programs and/or athletic programs will be hurt and it will be the taxpayers' fault if the district goes over the cliff.

In the meantime, the school board and the superintendent are going to act like they are doing something about the current operating deficit (which is in excess of $2 million per year).  The latest deficit reduction plan, passed at last month's board meeting (see here), consists mainly of "smoke and mirrors."  If you read to the end of the deficit reduction plan, you will see a projected savings of $768,000.  Two-thirds of that number (the $500,000 "Health Insurance Fund" surplus), however, consists of savings that have already been realized and are already accounted for in the calculation of the current deficit. 

You see, the "Health Insurance Fund" is part of the Education Fund.  And even though there might be a surplus in the "Health Insurance Fund" (which is not a fund recognized by the state for school budgetary purposes), there is a deficit in the Education Fund as a whole.  It is as if you decided not to spend the $100 in your left pocket (which you counted as a saving, which of course it was at the time) and later transferred that $100 to your right pocket (counting it again as a saving, which of course it is not).  You see, it is not just politicians in Washington D.C. and Springfield that engage in "smoke and mirror" games.  Local entities are just as adept at these type of shenanigans.  So, the real number is closer to $268,000 (though even that contains more than a little wishful thinking).

As you can see, the latest deficit reduction plan at best represents a mere 10% of the current deficit.  Within two or three years, the balance in the Education Fund will be depleted and it will start going "into the red."  Rather than trying to significantly reduce or eliminate the deficit, the school board and superintendent are choosing to run the district right up to the cliff.  Then when we are at the cliff, they will try to convince the taxpayers that the taxpayers will be responsible for going over the cliff unless the taxpayers give the district more money by passing a referendum to increase the tax rate.

Next Minooka 201 School Board Meeting

The next meeting of the Minooka CCSD 201 school board is Wednesday, March 20, 2013. The Committee of the Whole Meeting starts at 6:00 p.m. in the board room (the old library) at the Minooka Primary Center located at 305 Church Street in Minooka. The Committee of the Whole Meeting will be followed by the regular Board Meeting at 7 p.m. Both meetings are open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend. You can find the agenda for each of the meetings here. In addition, for those who are interested, click here and here for information regarding issues that will be discussed at the Committee of the Whole Meeting and the Board Meeting.

Our Children's Future

A recent article in the New York Times about the plight of Detroit (click here) got me to thinking.  I sure hope that our children take better care of their children's future than we have taken of our children's future.  You might ask, "what does the plight of Detroit have to do with my children's future?"  Well, the quote from John Boyle at the end of the article sums it up nicely:  “Detroit is a microcosm of what’s going on in America, except America can still print money and borrow."  Detroit is indeed a microcosm of what is going on in America.  From coast to coast and from local government on up, we have made promises that were unsustainable.  We should have known that they were unsustainable when they were made.  After all, a little basic mathematics, including an understanding of exponential functions, is all that is necessary to know that continuous growth in public sector wages, pensions and taxes cannot be sustained.  That was then, and this is now.  Now it is time to pay the piper.

We have created a society which our children cannot afford.  And, what is worse, we continue to make the same mistakes at every level of government.