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District 86 administration presents state-of-the-district: enrollment decline, $141M budget and student outcomes
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Summary
Superintendent and administrators gave new and returning board members a high-level orientation covering schools, programs, staffing, finances and student outcomes, citing a roughly $141 million budget, a 13% enrollment decline over seven years and an operational fund balance of about $26.9 million.
District 86 administrators provided a “state of the district” orientation during the May 5 organizational meeting, presenting district structure, program offerings, finances and student outcome data to new and continuing board members.
Superintendent Dr. Locke and a cross-section of administrators described the district’s two comprehensive high schools and the Darien Transition Center, academic programs (about 27–30 AP offerings depending on site), student supports and operational organization. The presentation listed an operating budget of roughly $141,000,000 for the current year and an operational fund balance at the end of last year of about $26,900,000, roughly 24% of budgeted operating revenue.
Administrators said 94% of revenue is local, predominately property-tax based. The business office described a five-year forecast showing fund balances projected to remain relatively flat absent major changes. District staff noted enrollment has declined approximately 13% over seven years and demographic shifts include a rising share of multilingual learners and a modest increase in Asian and Hispanic student populations.
On academic measures, administrators noted year-to-year changes tied in part to statewide assessment changes — the district moved to the ACT suite for accountability exams in the most recent cycle — and small decreases in some proficiency measures that tracked statewide trends. The district reported that Hinsdale Central maintained an “exemplary” rating while Hinsdale South received a “commendable” rating under the Illinois report card metrics. District staff also presented growth analyses showing most students were in the typical or above-typical growth bands on PSAT/ACT-linked measures, while noting growth does not always close prior achievement gaps.
Presentation highlights by department: the principals outlined enrollment and program profiles for Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South; Jason Markey (assistant superintendent for academics) summarized curriculum, assessments and professional learning; Dr. Carrie Smith (assistant superintendent for student services) described the transition center (about 80 students served, services through age 22 under Illinois law for eligible students); Josh Stevenson (CFO) presented the budget and fund-balance figures; Alex Maister (communications) reviewed the district’s mass notification and web/social presence; Keith Bockwell (CIO) reviewed the district’s device fleet (about 6,781 devices) and key software systems; Jody Bryant (assistant superintendent for human resources) outlined staff counts and collective-bargaining timelines; facilities and security leads reviewed custodial/grounds staffing and layered security resources.
Administrators also flagged several items on the near-term calendar for board action: budget review and adoption timelines, staffing approvals, program-of-study approval and other routine governance steps. They asked board members to review operational calendars and encouraged participation in committee assignments the board plans to finalize at the next meeting.
The presentation materials referenced state report-card data and district internal records; administrators said they would follow up with more detail on certain technical items (for example, how revised state business rules might affect graduation-rate calculations).
