Elkville schools' budget waters treacherous, too

When Du Quoin District 300 architect Paul Lunsford was talking about what's next for his firm after finishing the Du Quoin high school project, he mentioned some interest in Elkville wanting to build a new school.

"We don't have the 25 percent match for a new school," said District 196 school superintendent Kevin Spain this week.

Elverado received mention on the Illinois Capital Development Board's 2004 project list, but none of the projects have been funded nor will they be in the forseable future.

Spain said that at one point years ago the board had talked about building a new elementary building alongside its junior high building in Vergennes.

There is a sense of urgency in Spain's voice about circumventing the state's current school funding crisis.

Is Elverado District 196 fiscally solid? "No, we are in trouble," said, expecting the district of 450 elementary, junior high and high school students to go on to the state's watch list after this year's audit is submitted along with other financials.

"We will have about a $200,000 deficit," this year, Spain adds. That number pales by the $970,000 deficit in District 300 and the $700,000 deficit in Pinckneyville which those boards hope to pare back to a quarter million.

With that said, there is no plan to consolidate the Elverado student population into neighboring school districts any time soon.

He said District 196 is living off of a small reserve that getting smaller by bye year. He said in the months ahead the district may be cutting programs and will likely enlist the community in helping to prioritize what's important to the taxpayers in District 196.