6 years, 10 months ago by Mary Griffith
District transfers $2.75 million to pay salaries
Quincy's newest elementary school will be named after the two men who faced off in Washington Park in 1858, as part of the nation's most famous series of political debates.
The K-5 building, which replaces Monroe School on Payson Road, will be called Lincoln-Douglas Elementary. That decision was made Wednesday night by the Quincy School Board. The new school will be open starting this August. Finances dominated the Board’s discussion, with Richard McNay telling his fellow board members that “unless the state passes a budget, Quincy will not have enough funding to finish the coming school year.” The district transferred $2.75 million from the working cash fund into the education fund, just to make payroll for the remaining month of the current fiscal year. The board also voted to sell $23 million in bonds to continue school construction. Because of the state's budget impasse, those bond’s rating was lowered A minus to Triple B. That's below investment grade, and will cost taxpayers an extra $600,000 in interest payments. About the lowered rating, School Board President Sayeed Ali told WTAD News:
"We keep getting crushed for things we can't control."
Because of the lack of a budget, the state of Illinois owes the district over $3 million, and district officials aren’t confident they’ll ever see that money.
The Board also voted to pay $360,000 to have new lighting installed at Flinn Stadium. Four new poles will be erected with hi-tech light fixtures that will put twice the illumination on the athletic field for half the energy cost. The poles will be paid for from life safety funds, since the old poles were in danger of collapse, due to rust. Quincy Vo-Tec students will be able to study diesel mechanic technology through John Wood Community College next year. The high schoolers will be given credit from JWCC.
