EDWARDSVILLE - Three Riverbend area school districts have been placed on the Illinois Financial Watch List, a designation with some dire undertones for the districts' finances.
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Those three districts are Alton, Bethalto and Edwardsville. The Triad School District was also given that designation. To delve a bit deeper into the financial situation of each school district, an identical questionnaire was sent to representatives of each of the three by Riverbender.com Wednesday afternoon via email. On the morning of Friday, April 28, 2017, Edwardsville Financial Director David Courtney responded to some of those questions. The following are the questions and his answers
1) What does this designation mean for your district?
The district has been on the Financial Watch List since 2009. as presented before, this was one of the reasons for the Education Fund Referendum request.
2) Why did your district receive this designation?
Negative operating fund balances and continuing structural operating budget deficits.
3) How has general state aid been in the last few years?
FY 2008 - $11,014,850
FY 2009 - $7,866,646
FY 2010 - $6,629,673
FY 2011 - $6,836,189
FY 2012 - $6,091,376 (95 percent proration)
FY 2013 - $5,867,783 (89 percent proration)
FY 2014 - $6,139,603 (89 percent proration)
FY 2015 - $5,969,057 (87 percent proration)
FY 2016 - $6,171,935 (92 percent proration)
4) Has it been prorated at all?
Please see above.
5) What about the categorical payments, how much does the state owe in those?
Over $2.5 million.
6) What can be done by your district to assist with this designation?
This was accomplished with the passage of Proposition E.
7) What can be done by the state to aid this designation?
Did not provide answer.
8) Did the One Cent Sales Tax failure affect your district?
NO.
9) How could school funding be improved in the State of Illinois?
Did not provide answer.
10) Edwardsville passed Proposition E. How has that bettered Edwardsville?
Did not provide answer.
11) Bethalto has joined 16 other districts in a lawsuit against the State of Illinois. Would your district consider such measures necessary in the future if conditions do not change[?]
Did not provide answer.
