Health & Fitness
Valley View: No More Debt
Valley View school board Finance Committee considered debt restructuring scenarios that did not involve extending district debt repayment, but rejected them.
State Treasurer Dan Rutherford just released a position paper, No More Debt, detailing how debt financing has put Illinois on the "verge of a financial disaster". He said he doesn't support more borrowing and shows how massive increases in state debt and excessive spending have cost Illinois taxpayers "hundreds of millions of extra dollars in repayment".
I agree with Treasurer Rutherford.
Valley View is a microcosm of the unsound debt financing at the state level.
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I spoke with board member Jim Curran after the April 28 board meeting and we agreed that the board .
Member Curran said that there was a better way of refinancing district debt without extending the debt repayment period. He said that all we’ve done is push the debt into the future. So when there is a need for maintenance or building in the future, future boards will be faced with maintaining the additional debt piled on by this board in addition to any other financing they may need.
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When I asked Assistant Superintendent Gary Grizzafi via email what the district’s debt burden would have been if they had refinanced without extending the debt repayment period, his answer was “Unknown”. I followed up and asked if the Finance Committee considered any refinancing scenarios that did not involve the district extending the debt repayment period and I have yet to get an answer.
Board Vice President Rick Gougis said the Finance Committee did consider refinancing scenarios that did not involve extending the debt repayment period when I inquired after the May 23 board meeting.
Gougis and Grizaffi were both members of the Finance Committee. The committee met six times between November 17 and March 9. Other committee members included:
- Former board member Mike Evans
- Superintendent Dr. Phil Schoffstall
- Superintendent-Elect Jim Mitchem
- Director of Finance Joanne Bourg
- Kirk Openchowski
- PMA Consultant Representatives
If the Finance Committee considered scenarios that did not involve extending the debt repayment, thereby not increasing district debt, what was the reasoning to reject them? Whatever the final debt increase turns out to be, the question remains, have district taxpayers been burdened with unnecessary debt?
