Duncan Agnew:

“As the district’s financial adviser, I cannot stress enough the magnitude of the financial challenges facing this district. Status quo will lead the district into either financial or academic bankruptcy,” said financial consultant Robert Grossi.

“I’ve been appointed twice by the Illinois State Board of Education in my career to oversee school districts that have been taken over by the state due to fiscal insolvency. Unless decisions are made that are bold and immediate, it is my assessment that the district is heading in that direction.”

Grossi was referring to the imminent risk, if the status quo continues, of the state taking over the district, which happens periodically with Illinois school districts that repeatedly fail to pay their bills.

The district’s spending over the last several years, which has gone up by an average of 9.75% per year since the 2021 fiscal year, was the elephant in the room. Cash on hand for District 65 was at $90 million to start this year, but Grossi and Chief Financial Officer Tamara Mitchell are projecting that number to fall to $54.96 million by the end of the year. That means the district is expecting to have 72 days’ worth of reserve funds when the 2024-25 year wraps up.

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