EDWARDSVILLE - The confines of the Edwardsville District 7 Board of Education office and the various schools were busy, yet full of energy and excitement for the future on Wednesday after Proposition E passed on the ballot Tuesday evening.
Voters overwhelmingly supported Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7’s plan to ensure its ongoing financial stability and academic excellence by increasing the Education Fund tax rate by $0.55 Tuesday at the polls.
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Proposition E won approval by a large margin of 8,618 to 5.804.
Dr. Lynda Andre, Superintendent of Schools, is gratified at the District 7 communities’ response to addressing both the budget deficit and students’ critical academic, technology, and school security needs at a time when the state continues to shortchange its youngest citizens.
“I want to thank the citizens of District 7 for stepping up to the challenges we face to continue to provide all of our children with the excellent education that is the hallmark of our school district," Andre said. "In order to do that, it is critical that we are able to balance the budget.
"The decision made last night will not only balance the budget, but will also have a significant impact on the education of thousands of students now and for many years to come as we continue to grapple with a decline in state and federal funding."
Andre said she wanted to recognize the dedicated citizens group Save District 7 Schools that provided leadership, energy, enthusiasm, and countless volunteer hours, and communicated these complex financial and educational issues throughout the District 7 community.
“I want to thank Katie Robberson, Amanda Brase, Donna Charleston, Lucas Siron, Diana Speicher, Beth Duncan, Jennifer Fowler, Sean McMeen, Chantal Chandler, Sarah Sturycz, Tiffany Paschall, Becky Yarbrough, Bob Paty, Heather Browning, Ben Dickmann, and John McDole, who took the lead and were willing to accept the challenge of assisting the District in its effort to address this extremely complex issue for the benefit of the children in our communities.
"I also want to thank the many citizens, including students and former students, who took the time to record and post testimonials on social media, canvass the community, hold countless informational meetings, and lend their expertise to the campaign.”
As a result of their efforts and those of the EGHM Foundation, PTOs, booster clubs, parents, employees, business leaders, and civic and community organizations, Proposition E gained support from nearly every sector of the community.
The District plans for the funding from this referendum as follows:
- Ensure a balanced budget by June 2019 to avoid a potential state takeover
- Eliminate the expected June 2017 Education Fund operating debt of $6.7 million and begin establishing cash reserves
- Address academic, technology, and school security needs, including replacing aging textbooks, restoring the curriculum review cycle, upgrading technology infrastructure and hardware, and updating failing school security systems
- Address increases in operational expenditures
Board of Education President Monica Laurent said, “On behalf of the Board of Education, I would like to thank the voters of this great district for their support. For more than a year, we knew that District 7 needed a long-term solution for our revenue shortfall.
"The success of this referendum ensures that District 7 will be able to maintain our high standard of academic excellence. We will continue to review all expenditures to bring the District to financial stability as soon as possible should the state continue to falter in its funding for education."
Andre said that with the success of the referendum, the District 7 communities have responded to Springfield in the strongest, most powerful message they could.
”Decisions about our children’s education should be made in their best interests within our local communities. And now they will be," she concluded.
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