School Board Approves Balanced Budget, Votes to Extend Lease on District Offices

Yorkville Community Unit School board members adopted a budget for the 2012 fiscal year with a surplus of a little more than $1.36 million.

District Business Manager Jacqui Parisi outlined the budget proposal during Monday’s meeting.

Using a new zero-based budgeting system that required the approval of every line item of the budget, the 2012 proposal projects a continuation of all district programs.

The budget estimates total revenue of about $59.03 million and expenditures totaling a little more than $57.7 million.

Also during Monday’s meeting, board members voted to extend the current lease for the at 602 Center Parkway out 10 more years once the current four years are up. A change in the new lease agreement allows for the district to own the building at the conclusion of the lease.

“We have been talking for awhile about the possibility of acquiring this building,” said Superintendent Scott Wakeley. “Ultimately this agreement gives us the ability to own a building versus simply rent.”

Yorkville Community Unit School District 115 headquarters house the superintendent's and other top administrators' offices, as well as the school board meeting room.

Board member Peter Athens, who along with fellow board member Steven Gengler voted against the new agreement, said he was concerned about extending the lease.

“Fourteen years is a long time,” he said. “I don’t know how many people in this room, let alone on this board, will be here 14 years from now. The economic landscape is going to change. It might be a great decision—we might walk out of it 14 years from now owning a building. But saddling someone with something 14 years down the road ... I would rather we just run the lease out and make a decision at that time.”

Board President Dave Dockstader said purchasing the building is “a way to eventually pick up equity for the school district with something we are already paying.”

“It also gives us an option. We are out of space in here,” he said. “This (new lease) does give us access to start taking over some of the next building as tenants move out. We can expand here.”

District officials could also sublease the property if they decided to eventually move the district office elsewhere, Dockstader said.

“This is a prime piece,” he said. “I look at it being a good move for us. In this place and price we’re getting it for right now, I would think in 14 years it would be worth more than what it is today.”