Beecher 200U Finances Not Out of the Woods Yet

By Jeff Vorva

Beecher School District 220-U’s financial picture is looking a little better after a referendum passed in April but it is not out of the woods yet.

During a finance meeting following the school board’s Sept. 11 regular meeting, Superintendent Jack Gaham presented a lay of the land for the board members.

An April 4 referendum, which was rejected in 2022, passed to help ease a $1 million shortfall.

But the money is not kicking in right away and Gaham said the district is still at a significant deficit.

“The important number everyone wants to know about is the deficit and it’s at $377,000 this year,” he said. “As I told you all last year, no matter what happened with the referendum, we would be deficit spending this year.

“I’ve never swayed from that one iota. I did tell you it might be more than this, but with the cuts we made and watching our spending, it is a lot better.”

He said the Personal Property Real Estate Tax the district will receive this year is going to be at approximately $400,000 this year after it received more than $700,000 last year.

Gaham said the state made “significant errors” in giving school districts too much money last year and rather than ask for a refund from the various school districts, it gave out less money this year.

He said the budget had some areas in the red, but the board will be able to take some funds out of certain areas with a surplus of cash and move it over to the areas that need it.

“We’re not taking money from kids,” Gaham said. “It’s all one big pool of money.”

Overall, after getting over a rough patch, Gaham sees smoother sailing in the coming year.

“Over the next few months, we have that ability to now have conversations about what we can bring back,” he said. “Once the referendum kicks in, we will have an $800,000 surplus and we can start conversations about bringing back an art teacher or someone else.”

Remembering Arianna

The school year got off to a terrible start when Beecher Junior High School student Arianna Bonelli died on Sept. 6, five days after suffering a severe asthma attack.

This is the second time in a year tragedy hit the family as Arianna’s mother, Tara, died on Christmas day.

Gaham said that in the spring, the district will dedicate a tree in the memory of Arianna at the junior high.

Coming and going

The board acknowledged the resignation of junior high assistant track coach Jesse Nagel.

It also approved the employment of high school drama sponsor Deborah Hurling and per-diem high school media aid Vicki Ploense.