With the governor's assurance that education funding will not be cut, work has started to put together next year's budget for the Rock Island schools. Last night, the school board authorized district staff to develop a budget, assuming state aid will stay the same as this year.
Chief financial officer, Bob Beckwith, now estimates the deficit next year will reach 2 million dollars, but some spending cuts can reduce that to 1.2 million.
The board also approved a deficit of up to 1.2 million dollars that can be covered with reserve funds.
Currently state aid in Illinois is pro-rated at 89 per cent of its authorized level, and Beckwith says Governor Bruce Rauner's budget continues state aid at that level, despite Illinois' serious financial problems.
The Rock Island school board could give its final approval to a new budget in June.