After years of deficits, Proviso Township High School District 209 has called in the state to oversee its finances, a move that could result in smaller raises for staff, reduction of retirement contributions and replacement of contractors, among other budget cutbacks.
Deb Vespa, who monitors the oversight process for the state board of education, said the Forest Park-based district was on the state’s financial watch list in 2008 and again this year and has been deficit spending since at least 2003. Now a three-person Financial Oversight Panel meets after every school board meeting to analyze spending and then approve or deny each district expenditure.
Charles Flowers, who served on the Proviso school board from 2005 to 2007, said spending has long been “out of control,” citing $200,000 annual insurance broker fees and hefty legal bills from lawsuits against the district.
“I … would ask for financial information and would get bits and pieces,” said Flowers, now regional superintendent of schools for suburban Cook County. “I think at this point, the frustration in the community is that … [the board has] demonstrated they are not good fiscal agents for the district.”
Flowers said the monitoring already has led to improvements. For example, the panel has recommended the district find a new insurance broker and auditor.
“They won’t be able to pick or choose their friends,” he said of board members.
Proviso served 5,020 students in 2008 at three schools: Proviso East in Maywood, Proviso West in Hillside and Proviso Math and Science Academyin Forest Park.
The average teacher and administrative salaries were on par with the state average. Only 39.2 percent of the budget was dedicated to instruction, compared with 47.5 percent at the state level for the 2006-07 school year, the last year for which such data is available.
Academic achievement is lackluster, according to state records. Only 23.2 percent of Proviso students passed the Prairie State Achievement Exam in 2008, compared with 52.5 percent across the state.
Mona Johnson, head of the teachers union, said the oversight would lead to more stability for teachers and students. The 304 teachers are near the end of a four-year contract that gave them 5 percent raises for three years and a 4 percent increase in one, she said.
Johnson, who has worked at the school district for 30 years, said she hopes for more raises in the upcoming contract.
“We would like a substantial increase so we can be at a competitive level like some of the other districts,” she said.
First-year teachers at Proviso earn $41,704 to $46,195 a year, depending on their level of education.
School board President Chris Welch said the oversight panel has pared down raises from the board’s proposal of 4 percent in some cases or eliminated them.
“They suggested not paying into everyone’s teacher retirement fund, which was a standard practice for school districts,” Welch said.
He said Proviso asked for the state’s intervention because it “depoliticizes” the budget process.
“We see it as a positive and, so far, it has been,” he said.
Vespa said the oversight at Proviso won’t necessarily lead to firings, though it is possible that some contracts will not be renewed.
“Most school districts do not want to be in this position, but we look at this as a partnership to help them with their finances,” Vespa said. “The goal is to leave the school district with a sound financial status.”
The panel will monitor the district for up to 10 years, depending on its progress.
Cairo Unified School District 1 and Venice Community Unit School District 3 have been monitored since 2003, with both making progress but requiring more work, Vespa said.
The state school board created a special authority to take over the finances of Hazel Crest School District 1521/2 and Round Lake School District 116 in 2002. State officials say both have stabilized.
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jnapolitano@tribune.com
