GOODMAN: 'No deficit reduction plan this year'
<p dir="ltr"><span>The Chester District 139 Board of Education met briefly in special session on Sept. 29 to approve the district's budget for the current school year and Superintendent Rick Goodman revealed a piece of good news.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Goodman announced that due to how fund balances were working out, the district would not be under a deficit reduction plan for the 2016-17 school year.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>But the celebration will be short-lived as Goodman is anticipating a return to deficit reduction for the 2017-18 school year.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"S</span><span>ince we made an inter-fund loan of $450,000 from the working cash fund to the education fund, and an inter-fund loan of $150,000 (also from the working cash fund), to the building fund, we were able to cover expenses and it raised our balances enough to bring us out of deficit reduction for our current school year," Goodman said in a follow-up email to the Herald Tribune. "These inter-fund loans will have to be paid back this year.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"By paying the loans back, we will then be placed into a deficit reduction plan for the 2017-2018 school year."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Goodman also announced that he is hoping to hear from the Capital Development Board (the state's construction arm) regarding money still owed to the district from recent construction projects at Chester Grade School.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Goodman stated he is hoping for between $400,000 and $600,000.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"I have submitted the final paperwork for the grade school's recent construction projects to the Capital Development Board in Springfield," Goodman said in the email. "Since the project is now complete, we are hoping the Capital Development Board will now distribute any remaining funds that are owed to the district.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"I'm waiting on them to run the figures to see what the amount might be."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>With only board members Debi Caraway, Dan Colvis, Trent Vasquez and Jamie Eggemeyer present, the board adopted the current district budget and approved both non-certified and administrative salary increases for the current school year.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Goodman told the newspaper after the meeting that the increases translate to 2 percent for salaried employees and $0.25/hour for hourly employees.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>He was also asked if he had heard any news about general state aid.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"As like all other districts, the issue with state aid is if they will pay all of it or decide to withhold some of the payments," he said. "I've seen it happen both ways. If we get into the situation again concerning a stalemate over agreeing on a state budget, I will definitely start to worry."</span>