Sangamon Sun

Ball-Chatham Community School District #5 Finance Committee met July 15

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Attendees: Dr. Becca Lamon, Wendy Dulakis, Ryan Murphy, Brent Kulivic, Dave Kimsey, and Pat McCarthy.

Key Points:

PSIC RENEWAL PRICING

Property and Casualty 16% increase from $552,377.45 to $642,148.19

Workers Compensation 16% increase from $272,382.73 to $312,633.50

LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) Update

The FY26 state budget was approved (signed June 16, 2025) and includes a $307 million increase to EBF—slightly below the $350 million originally

Many large districts (like Chicago, Rockford, Elgin, Peoria, and Springfield) remain on the edge between Tier 1 and Tier 2. If any move into Tier 1, they’ll receive more funding—potentially reducing what’s left for other Tier 1 districts, including ours.

Chatham remains in Tier 1, so we continue to qualify. But because allocations depend on final tiers, we’ll monitor those large districts closely to understand if our share will shift.

Revenue

Federal funding decreased 4.6%, reducing revenues by approximately $178 million.

On a positive note, Corporate Personal Property Income Tax is up 10%, and Sales Tax grew 0.7%.

These trends will clearly shape upcoming budget decisions, though the details differ slightly from earlier projections.

Baseball Field Rental

The District received a request from the Village of Chatham regarding the baseball field at Chatham Community Park. The district was asked to consider contributing annually to help cover maintenance and upkeep costs for the field. This field is used regularly by students and local youth teams, and the request stems from the shared use between the school district and the park. The conversation focused on the nature of the district’s current use, any existing agreements in place, and whether contributing to ongoing upkeep aligns with our fiscal responsibilities and community partnership goals. The finance committee agreed to contribute an annual fee and also agreeing to pay for upcoming turf expenses in 10-15 years. The exact amount of future contributions will be decided at a later date.

End of the Year Projections

Operating Funds (excluding transfers) YTD revenues totaled $59,738,104 through June 2025, which is $1,609,513 or 2.7% more than the amount received last year for this period. The YTD difference is driven by an increase in 1000 Local Sources of $1,239,424, an increase in 3000 State Sources of $1,108,549, and a decrease in 4000 Federal Sources of -$738,460.00.

Operating Funds (excluding transfers) YTD expenses totaled $58,888,188 through June 2025, which is $4,924,864 or 8.4% more than the amount spent last year for this period.

The YTD difference is driven by an increase in 100 Salaries of $1,542,755, an increase in 500 Capital Outlay of $1,465,477, and an increase in 200 Employee Benefits of $1,115,927.00.

Cash Flow Analysis for Education Fund, O&M Fund, Transportation Fund, and Retirement Fund Included.

Next Steps:

Upcoming outside audit to be conducted August 6th and August 7th.

FY26 Original Budget Presented at August board meeting.

FY26 Original Budget hearing and adoption expected at the September board meeting.

Renew Dowson Farm Lease at October Finance meeting.

Tax Levy to be presented at November Finance meeting.

Tax Levy to be presented at November Board Meeting.

Truth in Taxation hearing (if necessary) December Board Meeting.

Tax Levy to be approved at December Board Meeting.

https://go.boarddocs.com/il/cusd5/Board.nsf/Public