District 87 unveils tentative budget that’s $1.4 million in the red

(WJBC file photo)
(WJBC file photo)

By Joe Ragusa

BLOOMINGTON – District 87 is planning to operate in a deficit for the 2015-16 school year. The school board’s tentative budget for its education fund projects a loss of $1.4 million.

Superintendent Barry Reilly said the district doesn’t want to be in the red.

“But in the end, I expect that even though we’re projecting a $1.4 million deficit, we’ll be able to work over the course of the year to make that less than that,” Reilly said. “The question becomes, ‘How much less can we get?'”

Reilly said the district was able to reduce its projected deficit of $2 million last year to a deficit of $300,000, so there’s hope they can do something similar this year.

A public hearing on the tentative budget is scheduled for Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. A vote on the budget is expected afterwards.

Joe Ragusa can be reached at [email protected].

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