School District levy accepted by Durand Board of Trustees

By Chris Johnson

News Correspondent

Before Trustees with Durand School District 322 could vote on a proposed spending request for the upcoming fiscal year, exposure to the public, in accordance with transparent school financial practices, required a public access period.

The Durand School Board finalized its request for funds from the State of Illinois and its district’s taxpayers. The amount of just under $5.9 million dollars is what Trustees say they feel it will take to get the job done next year. According to Illinois State Statute each school district is required to request a specific amount of money to spend in the next fiscal year. The current fiscal year ends on June 30, 2017.

The amount requested by District 322’s Board of Education has to then be presented to area taxpayers, giving them the chance to look at how much it will take to oversee the educational responsibilities required by the State of Illinois.

The opportunity to direct a comment to the Board of Trustees would then be accorded. The Board’s requirement is met by their timely-announcement of an upcoming public viewing period in an area publication. When the vote to approve the levy is taken, the Board finishes the deal after all taxpaying-citizens in attendance have spoken.

As part of a public hearing system, listening to citizens is the biggest requirement. Generally the Board has no responsibilities to respond to a taxpayer’s comments. No action would have to take place if a decision were made to not have any. In many cases the public viewing portion is simply a formality in the overall functional decision-making system.

For the Durand School District the levy amount includes $3,172,160 for the Educational Fund, $594,780 for Operations & Maintenance, $583,910 for Transportation, $120,000 for Social Security, $90,000 for Municipal Retirement with an expected Working Cash amount of $39,650.

The measure was finalized in accordance with existing State Statutes in place.