'Bare bones situation': Why Metamora Grade School faces tough choices if referendum fails

METAMORA – Tensions are high in Metamora over a referendum for Metamora Grade School.

The referendum on the ballot March 19 is the district’s third attempt to raise the education tax rate since 1988. The previous two requests were rejected by voters. With a tax rate of 1.52%, the district is well below the state average of 2.28%.

Proponents of the tax increase say it would keep the district from having to make difficult decisions, which could include consolidation with another district. But opponents balk at the numbers presented by the district.

State statute requires the district to share the maximum amount taxpayers would owe if the education fund levy rose from 1.52% to 2.31% — the levy on a home valued at $150,000 would rise by $347.60 a year; the owner of a home valued at $250,000 would pay $610.93 more per year.

The referendum is so contentious that most of the yard signs placed around town supporting the measure were destroyed or stolen in the early morning hours of Feb. 11.

"That was unfortunate,” said Metamora Grade School District Superintendent Ben Lee. “We try to prepare students to be good citizens, and even in the midst of conflict or disagreement to disagree agreeably, and, unfortunately, that wasn’t a good example for our students.”

A need to restructure

Lee understands why people don’t want their taxes to rise, so he has spent many hours in the past few months trying to explain the complicated workings of school finance. Many people are focused on the rising numbers, but what the district is really asking for is a restructuring of how they are funded. The increases they are required to disclose would be phased in over the course of several years, and could be less depending on state funding and property valuations.

The district has relied to heavily on bonds over the past few years, and it’s gotten them into trouble, said Lee.

“What has been happening is that the district has been reissuing these bonds, and they don't stretch as far as they used to," he said. “There’s increased costs, and school districts are limited to the percentage of outstanding debt that we can issue. The last time we issued debt, 2021, we had essentially capped out – we were basically at our debt limit.”

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Leading up to the bond payoff date in 2029, taxpayers will be paying higher taxes regardless of whether the referendum passes or not, said Lee. What the referendum will do is to start putting money into a different pot - the education fund - which will put the district on better financial footing in the future. The money now going toward interest and fees would be used to fund the school.

“At the end of the day, the tax rate is gonna go up — but rather than to keep issuing debt, we want to raise the education rate so we can have a more sustainable revenue source,” said Lee. “We want to focus on the future, but it’s hard to focus on the future when we keep paying on the past.”

Deep cuts and possible consolidation

Administrators of Metamora School District have always been fiscally responsible, said Lee, and that isn’t going to change if the referendum passes. If it doesn’t pass, deep cuts will be necessary.

"This would be the third referendum in the last eight years that the community would have voted no for, and that’s a pretty resounding message,” said Lee. “So the next step would be to have a feasibility study done to determine what Metamora Grade School would look like if we no longer had our stand-alone district, whether we merged with another neighboring school or multiple schools.”

Immediate cuts would include four teachers and five aides, and athletics programs would also be on the chopping block, Lee said.

“If people want to do athletics, there might be an added cost to that. And we would have to get rid of all non-essential things, like field trips and anything that requires bus travel. We’re just gonna keep pairing down to a very bare bones situation.”

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Leslie Renken can be reached at (309) 370-5087 or lrenken@pjstar.com. Follow her on Facebook.com/leslie.renken.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Metamora Grade School referendum proves contentious