Lisle CUSD 202 finance committee projects balanced FY27, deficits forecast to begin in FY28

Dave Wilkinson, the district finance presenter, told the Lisle Community Unit School District 202 finance committee on April 27 that the district remains "financially healthy" now but faces a widening gap between revenues and expenditures later in the five‑year projection.

"The district still is, remains financially healthy. We remain, stable financially, and we've built up some healthy reserves," Wilkinson said, summarizing a planning document the administration uses for bargaining and long‑term budgeting. He told the committee the projection shows a likely surplus for fiscal 2026, a target of a balanced fiscal 2027, and a crossing of the revenue and expenditure lines in fiscal 2028 that produces growing deficits thereafter.

The presentation put a rough FY26 surplus at about $1.3 million and projected the deficit would grow to roughly $2 million by fiscal 2031 under the model’s assumptions. Over the six‑year projection period, operating fund balances were projected to decline by just under $4 million, though Wilkinson emphasized the cash position remains above a commonly referenced 25% benchmark even in low months.

Wilkinson identified two broad reasons for the change in the outlook: rising expenditure pressures and the fading of one‑time or temporary revenue boosts. On the expense side he cited employee benefits (recent renewals he said came in at about 15–16 percent), continued pressure on transportation costs since the pandemic, and variability in outplaced special‑education tuition costs. On revenue, federal ESSER and ARP pandemic funds have been exhausted, investment earnings that supported recent surpluses have normalized, and a recent temporary bump in corporate personal property replacement tax receipts has returned to more typical levels.

The administration factored an expected increase in property tax revenue tied to new construction — notably the Arbor Station development — into the projection. Wilkinson said the district assumed roughly $1.3 million in baseline new property growth (adding about $58,000 a year in taxes) and that planned IGA language with the village of Lisle would allow the district to capture additional surplus from part of the Arbor Station project (he said that would add about $260,000 in the relevant years).

Wilkinson also flagged that the projection assumes no transfers from operating to the capital projects fund; he noted the district transferred about $3 million in prior years to prefund junior high renovations but is not relying on such transfers going forward. Purchased services have also increased materially — Wilkinson said the category rose from about $4.2 million to more than $6.4 million (a ~53 percent increase since FY19), with transportation a large component.

He recommended using the projection as a planning tool as the district approaches collective‑bargaining negotiations and other decisions. "This shows we have time to plan," Wilkinson said, adding that staff will continue updating the forecast regularly and present more detailed budget numbers as they develop. No formal action was taken; the presentation was advisory and intended to inform future budget and negotiation choices.