For Paula DuPont, the silence is scary.

DuPont, School Board president at Community Consolidated School District 180 in Burr Ridge, said she has not heard anyone speak out against the proposed referendum set for Tuesday, Feb. 5.

“So far I’m feeling like no news is good news,” she said. “I’m certain there will be individual voters who are not in favor of this ... but I’m not hearing a large roaring group, which is great.”

The referendum calls for a near 33-cent property tax increase, but DuPont and the School Board are calling it a “tax swap” because the proposed hike is the same rate currently being collected on some building bonds that will be paid off in 2009.
DuPont said the increase should be “invisible” for taxpayers in the district.

“The bonds are getting retired, we can have that same tax rate, nothing’s going to change as far as their bottom line,” she said. “And we’ll get some much-needed money for the schools.”

The district is running about a $2 million deficit in the current fiscal year, drawing down the district’s cash reserves from $3.7 million last summer to a projected $1.9 million in June to make up the difference, according to board documents.

Last year, District 180 actually reported a slight surplus of about $50,000, but Superintendent Tom Schneider said the surplus was a surprise — about $1 million in impact aid from the federal government for Argonne National Laboratory, which partly resides in the district’s boundary.

“That was how we ended up with a slight surplus,” Schneider said, “but that was from three years of back payments. ... It’s like somebody making out a household budget based on planning to win the lottery every year.”

The district still has cash reserves, but it has some unique budget pressures. One is the new Inspire Academy in Westmont, for special education students. Another is the continuing cost of educating an influx of minority students who require added tutoring and other programs.

DuPont said some families have left the district for private schools, but she said the School Board has chosen to deal with its problems.

“It is what it is. We’re a public school system. You have to educate who comes through the door,” she said. “As of right now, I’m feeling good.”