Oswego District 308 School District Drops a Notch in ISBE Financial Profile

Oswego District 308 fell a notch on the Illinois State Board of Education’s annual Financial Profile this year.

The district dropped from "review" to the the "Early Warning" category, which is the second highest-risk category, according to the ISBE document.

Meanwhile, nearby Plainfield School District 202 dropped from "Early Warning to "Financial Watch."

"Early Warning" means the ISBE "will be monitoring these districts closely and offering proactive technical assistance (e.g., financial projections and cash flow analysis, etc.,)" according to ISBE.

The Financial Profile provides a snapshot that helps the ISBE gauge school districts’ financial condition based on five indicators of financial performance: fund-balance-to-revenue ratio, expenditures-to-revenue ratio, days cash on hand, percent of short-term borrowing available, and percent of long-term debt remaining.

The 2013 Financial Profile is based on districts’ Annual Financial Report from Fiscal Year 2012.

The designation categories in descending order are:

• Financial Recognition
• Financial Review
• Early Warning
• Financial Watch

Sixty-five percent of the school districts were in the "Financial Recognition" category. But the number is down form 670 last year to 562 this year. The state includes 865 districts.

The number of districts listed in "Financial Watch," the lowest designation, increased from 17 last year to 45 this year.

The 2013 Financial Profile for all districts in Illinois can be found at: http://www.isbe.net/sfms/P/profile.htm.