Unit 40 School Board Approves TIF Agreement w/City

Effingham Unit 40 school board members Monday night approved a long-term agreement with the City of Effingham for the allocation of Tax Increment Financing dollars by the City to the school district.

Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, captures an increase in tax dollars in a TIF district, allowing those dollars to be used on projects in the district. 

The consideration is that at least some of those dollars would have been generated in the normal course of business and the other taxing bodies in the district don't benefit from them.

With that in mind, the municipalities holding TIF districts often allocate some of the tax dollars generated in the districts to those other taxing bodies. That was the case with the agreement approved last night.

Unit 40 Superintendent Mark Doan said Unit 40 would receive $1.2 million through the 2033-2034 school year, when the TIF district ends. A larger percentage of those dollars will come in the next three years to help the school district pay for the renovation of Effingham Junior High School. Some of the funding will also cover the cost of vocational education training for students.

Speaking of the junior high building, a bid was awarded for much of the exterior work discussed in recent months. Effingham Asphalt was awarded the work for $708,999. The work will include extending the roadway in front of the building to the east to provide egress off Richland Avenue and space for buses to drop off kids in the morning. The work will also involve a roadway by the old football field in back of the building extending from Richland Avenue to Grove Avenue to get parent pickup off the streets. The work will also allow the closing of the breezeway in back of the junior high building, allowing for better use of that area and safer conditions for students. The project will also involve construction of a 74-space parking lot off Richland Avenue along the north side of the football field. During the school day, the new lot will provide safer parking for teachers and other staffers since they won't have to cross Grove Avenue to reach the building.

In other news regarding the junior high building, Assistant Superintendent Jason Fox said the schedule of work on the renovation project is being altered. Year Two work this coming summer will take place in the 1939 portion of the building including a new HVAC system, with the 1963 section to be addressed in its entirety the third summer. Fox said the breezeway will still be closed this summer, though.

The Board purchased video streaming equipment from Al's Tire Mart and Electronics Center of Effingham for $6,365. The system will be installed in the Unit 40 Board room so board meetings can be live streamed. The system includes microphones for those involved in the meetings.

The Board saw a sample band uniform, as new uniforms are being considered. The plan is to purchase 125 uniforms at a cost of $70,800. The district would get a 3% discount if they paid in full. It's been well over a decade since the current uniforms were purchased.

Board members approved a memorandum of understanding with the Effingham Educational Support Professionals Association, crediting employees with work experience gained prior to their employment by Unit 40. The Board also approved a memorandum of understanding with the Effingham Classroom Teachers Association, where those who depart the district, then decide to return, can receive back some benefits they forfeited when they departed.

The Board purchased a John Deere mower from Sloan Implement for $13,372.57 with trade-in; purchased a lot east of the Early Learning Center for $35,000 to protect what might develop next door to the school's parking lot; and agreed to seek a $50,000 state grant with the district putting in $100,000. Fox said the project, if the grant money is received, would go for flooring at South Side School and the Early Learning Center.

In personnel moves, the Unit 40 board accepted the resignation of high school assistant principal David Gillean as of the end of the school year; accepted the resignation of teacher Katherine Diener as of the end of the school year; hired Laura Hodges as a two-hour bus driver, Dennis Birch as a custodian at the high school, and Hailey Kingston as a music teacher at Central School for the 2020-2021 school year. Leaves were approved for Kathryn Roepke, Lindsay Westendorf, Austin Stout and Kerri Krischel.