What does "balanced budget" mean?

The Northwest Herald carries an article this morning about Woodstock School District 200's "balanced budget".

Did the headline make you smile? Did you breathe a sigh of relief?

Did you even read the article?

Am I the only one who wonders what is "balanced" about an $840,000 deficit? Or the smoke-and-mirrors deception of calling a budget "balanced", when the District is actually sucking $840,000 out of reserves to meet its planned expenditures? Or the "added expenses" (according to the article) of $3,200,000 for the 7.3% increase in staff salaries?

Is there any reason that we aren't having a revolution right here in McHenry County?

Last week one retired and disabled senior citizen told me that his property taxes have gone up $1,000 in each of the past two years. And different retired senior citizen may lose his home because of increasing property taxes.

The next school board meeting is Tuesday, October 8, at 7:00PM. Meetings are held at the "Clay Professional Development Center", formerly known as Clay Street School, at 112 Grove Street (corner of Clay and Grove Streets).

What if every property taxpayer in District 200 boundaries showed up and shouted "No more!"

Well, the School Board knows that won't happen. They know hardly anyone will show up. Think they aren't counting on that? That's how they get away with calling deficit spending a "balanced budget." No one questions them.

Demand honesty and accountability in school district financing. Show up! Before you, too, can no longer afford to live in McHenry County!

Want to email the District 200 school board members? Good luck trying to find individual email addresses for them. Those email addresses are not on the D200 website. The best that D200 can figure out for an email address for the "important" board members is webmaster@wcusd200.org

Wouldn't you think D200 would create a unique email address for the Board, even as a group? It would take an I.T. person about 60 seconds to do so. Of course, he would have to be so directed to create it. So it appears that a lower-level school district employee (whoever reads the webmaster's email, if anyone) gets to screen and re-direct email to Board members.

Do you even know (or care) who is on the District 200 School Board? For the webpage listing the elected members, click here.