By: Diane Benjamin
1)
Normal is meeting tonight: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4338
Of course they are handing out your money. See PDF pages 20-22 to see how much the free entertainment costs you. Harmon Arts grants are on page 45. Read the rest of the agenda yourself or watch the meeting at 7:00
2)
WGLT is cheerleading for a Unit 5 property tax increase, they paid Facebook to promote their story:
WGLT fails to mention revenue was higher than expected this year – I have no idea by how much since it wasn’t mentioned when the Board passed a budget amendment at the 6/15/2022 meeting.
WGLT also fails to mention Unit 5 didn’t not include any of the additional revenue mentioned in their article in the budget deficit projections.
WGLT failed to mention the dismal percentage of proficient student. Arebn’t they supposed to be educating? https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/District.aspx?source=trends&Districtid=17064005026
WGLT failed to mention the money wasted on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion instead of actually teaching essentials to success.
WGLT didn’t bother asking why salaries increased more than 7% in 2020 with fewer students and stayed higher in 2021: https://blnnews.com/2022/04/01/unit-5-did-esser-funds-inflate-salaries/
Anyone surprised government is lobbying for government? Find their story yourself, I’m not going to give them free advertising.
3)
WGLT claimed in their story the Unit 5 Education Fund deficit this year is about $11 million. Unit 5’s own documents show it less than $10 million: Page 23 – https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1482?meeting=533319
Also on page 23 – Why was one positive number subtracted from the one above it?
What are funds 7000 and 8000? How much money is in those funds?
Math problem?
If you are using other funds, the total Other Sources should have been 11,880,698 (11,000,000+880,698) which makes the ending fund balance 14,743,661, which is almost $2 million more than the year began with.
Unit 5? WGLT?
Can we get some real numbers? Is the deficit going to decrease again at the next meeting?
4)
County voter turnout for the primary election was 25.17% https://countyclerk.mcleancountyil.gov/eresults/results-1.html
City of Bloomington turnout was 21.63% https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/IL/Bloomington/114198/web.285569/#/turnout
The vast majority of registered voters let other people pick who they get to vote for in November.
That is a brilliant way to protect Freedom and Liberty. You deserve what you get.
So WGLT wants higher taxes & Unit 5’s finance staff are just as crappy at math as the children they graduate.
You’re definitely right regarding Unit 5 and their schemes and manipulations to get an unwarranted tax increase, but the ‘math mistake’ highlighted here isn’t one. The section in question is essentially ‘Miscellaneous income and expense’. 7000 is income, 8000 is expense, so you subtract the second number from the first to get the net effect on the overall financial picture.
– Despite what some think, I’m not anti-government or anti-left, I’m simply Pro-Truth. Sometimes that means pointing out mistakes from people I generally agree with.
It should be in red if that is the case.