Waukegan school officials say district solvent while monitoring revenues; board ratifies $5.6 million in August payments

The Waukegan Board of Education on ratified the district’s second August batch of bills and payments covering the period Aug. 6–19, 2025 and heard a financial-status update from district finance staff. The board approved accounts-payable disbursements totaling $1,285,678.25, manual check requests totaling $3,405,263.54 and Old National Bank insurance payments totaling $914,894.83. The motion to ratify payments carried on a roll call vote. In a subsequent presentation, district finance leadership said the district currently has about $109 million in cash and holdings but is tracking revenue declines that have affected many school systems since federal COVID-era aid tapered. Finance staff said the district is not in a fiscal crisis and did not yet need to file a formal deficit-reduction plan, but that administrators are meeting weekly to update projections and will present quarterly reports to the board. Finance staff also told trustees the district plans public-facing outreach about fiscal status and that staff are examining options to streamline operations and prepare for possible adjustments in future budgets. The finance director said the district remains "poised" to pivot as additional information about revenue and state funding becomes available and emphasized ongoing monitoring.