Facing a $1.2 million cut in federal funding, high substitute teacher spending and increasing expenses to serve students with autism, Indian Prairie School District 204 is projecting a $4.9 million deficit in next year’s budget.
The district anticipates the shortfall to be a “one-time deficit,” with forecasts returning to balanced budgets beginning the following year. But the funding challenges in 2026-27 are expected to result in a reduction of roughly 20 full-time-equivalent positions from this year’s staffing numbers, administrators told school board members during the Monday, May 18, meeting.
Working to decrease effects of federal funding cut
The cut in federal funding comes from the Title I program, which provides supplemental funding to support “low-achieving children, especially in high-poverty schools,” according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Matt Shipley, chief school business official, said the district’s poverty rate dipped below 5%, according to the Census data the federal government uses to determine eligibility for Title I funding, which has helped support positions such as math interventionists at schools with higher concentrations of low-income students…