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WRIGHT TWP. &mdash; Citing a balloon debt service looming for 2021-22, the Crestwood School Board plans an unusual approach to approving a final budget at the June 18 meeting. It could lead to three separate votes before things are settled.
				The board passed a preliminary final budget in May with no tax increase and no cuts or layoffs. At a finance committee meeting Wednesday Superintendent Robert Mehalick apologized for presenting only one option for the board to consider then, and recommended an increase of either 2.5% or 3.2%, which would be the maximum allowed under state law.
				Board President James Costello said it would be too complicated to present a motion at next week&rsquo;s meeting with three options (no increase, 2.5% or 3.2%), so he plans to present a single motion to vote on no increase, as approved in the preliminary final budget in May.
				If that measure doesn&rsquo;t pass, Costello will move the board into a &ldquo;work session,&rdquo; which he said would allow administrators to make a presentation on the 2.5% increase, with the board and public able to ask questions. Costello said he cleared the idea with district legal advisers, adding that moving to a work session sidestepped the board policy that requires the public to register in advance to discuss agenda items at a regular meeting.
				After the presentation and questions, the board would switch to a voting session and vote on the 2.5% increase. If that vote fails, a second work session would be called for another presentation and questioning before voting on the 3.2% option.
				Mehalick said that while the district could probably get through the 2020-21 fiscal year with no tax increase, it would face a massive, $2.5 million shortfall the year after that.
				Business Manager Peter Bard said that&rsquo;s because the district refinanced debt in the past to lower payments in the short term, but in doing so created a balloon payment.
				&ldquo;Our debt service goes from $466,000 in 2020-21 to $2.4 million in 2021-22,&rdquo; Bard said, adding that it goes down to $1.8 million the following year.
				The previous board that voted for the refinancing said it would buy time, but that was before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The state closed all schools in March, and is requiring extensive planning before they can reopen in the fall. That planning will add costs to this year&rsquo;s budget. Board Member Barry Boone cited one report he came across that estimated, nationwide, all the precautions (sanitizing, personal protection equipment, social distancing of students and teachers) could cost districts up to $500 per student this coming school year.
				Bard said by raising taxes this year, the district will avoid a steeper increase next year. &ldquo;Not to borrow from the pandemic, but it&rsquo;s like flattening the curve.&rdquo;
				Part of the problem is that the district has no real fund balance. A balance of $711,861 had been expected at the end of this fiscal year June 30, and the preliminary final budget used all but about $20,000 to avoid any tax hike. With the added costs of the pandemic and the coming debt payment balloon, Mehalick said he felt it unfortunate but necessary to suggest the tax hike options.
				Boone said the district is still looking for savings in next year&rsquo;s budget.
				The 3.2% increase would put property taxes at 11.4076 mills and raise an additional $618,393. A mill is a $1 tax for every $1,000 in assessed property value. The median property value in the district is about $178,000, Bard said, so a 3.2% increase would translate into an average of about $63 more than this year.
				The 2.5% increase would raise about $483,983 for the district and increase tax bills on average by just under $50.
				The finance committee recommended some relief to taxpayers, though. Next week&rsquo;s agenda includes a vote to drop the penalty period for tax payers, setting the discount period from July 1 to Aug. 31, and the face-value period from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31. There&rsquo;s a separate motion to offer a payment plan with three equal installments due Aug. 15, Oct. 15, and Dec. 15.

Crestwood School Board plans unusual budget move