District 150 recently voted to close Kingman, Irving, and Tyng schools — and a high school to be named later. This was supposed to save $11 million — and even that might not be enough, we were told. More drastic cuts may need to be made. Not only that, but the district had overspent for so long that they had no reserves, and they needed to issue $38 million in bonds to replenish those reserves and go on a fiscal diet.
Then last night, they voted to create three new schools:
The School Board on Monday unanimously approved a request for $25.5 million from the Public Building Commission of Peoria to build a math, science and technology academy, a career vocational and technical center as well as facilities for an alternative or nontraditional high school.
WCBU News added that they are planning to renovate and use existing buildings for these three schools.
But what about the $11 million in savings? How is it that just two months ago, the situation was so dire that we had to close four schools and increase class sizes, but now we can magically afford to reopen three other schools? Oh sure, the renovation costs are coming from the Public Building Commission (God forbid they not use every last penny of bonding capacity before this district’s five-year limited access to the PBC expires!). But those three buildings are still going to need staff and maintenance once they open — just like the schools that were closed. Aren’t they going to be eating up their savings? Aren’t they going to be overspending again, causing them to draw down their recently replenished reserves? Isn’t this setting up the district to be broke again in just a few years, like when they closed Blaine-Sumner and White, but then acquired the old Social Security office on Knoxville and renovated Blaine-Sumner for offices?
Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against establishing these schools they talked about last night. These sounds like great additions. My questions is simple: How can they afford it? I thought they were broke. Either they were bluffing about the severity of their structural deficit when they voted to close four schools two months ago, or they are now bluffing about being able to afford the establishment of three new schools. They can’t have it both ways.
The Journal Star is reporting that their columnist and reporter Phil Luciano was officially charged with two counts of battery for allegedly hitting a man at a West Peoria bar. You can read the story here. “His first appearance is scheduled Wednesday in Peoria County Circuit Court.”