GURNEE, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Warren Township High School District 121 is asking voters to approve an additional 35 cents to their tax rate on April 6.
The estimated tax impact of the 35-cent proposal is $10 per month per $100,000 of a home’s fair market value, or about $30 per month for a $300,000 home.
It would generate $7.75 million annually for District 121 and keep administrators from making staffing cuts in 2022.
“Those 13 reductions amount to $1.4 million and also have a dramatic impact on our delivery of our band program, our college counseling, and our special education program,” said Superintendent John Ahlgrim during a district webinar earlier in March.
The district will need to eliminate a total of 46 teacher and staff positions over the next three years to help its budget, which has run a deficit for six of the last seven years.
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“As we continue to reduce staff, the only way to structurally do that is to start to do things like take us down to seven periods and eliminate approximately 20 positions,” said Ahlgrim. “These would, for the most, be elective course offerings.”
Athletic programs are also on the chopping block. The district plans to cut one level of each sports program in 2023.
“Some of our smaller sports may just have a varsity and a [junior varsity] level that they compete in and those would simply go to a varsity level,” he said.
Eventually, every sports program would be phased out.
“The next year, by 2024, all sports are gone: no more athletics,” said Patrick Keeley, assistant superintendent of student services.
WTHS has already taken steps to balance its budget, including eliminating 51 teacher and staff positions over the past five years, refinancing outstanding debt, reducing the cost of employee benefits through a new healthcare cooperative, and renegotiating vendor contracts.
It has been almost 20 years since voters approved a limiting tax rate increase for WTHS.