PES still waiting for state money

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PRINCETON — Like school districts across the state, the Princeton Elementary School District has yet to receive $600,000 in Hold Harmless money, forcing them to operate on local property tax money.

Superintendent Tim Smith said the local property tax money arrives in the first half of the fiscal year.

“That’s what’s carrying us through,” he said. “But we’ve already lost money that we’ll never recover, in the lost interest income.”

Smith said they are hopeful they will see the payments before the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2008.

“The money is in the budget. It’s in the funding. It’s up to (Blagojevich) to either sign it or not sign it and let it become law,” Smith said.

“He could sit on it and wait until the very end and then make line item vetoes which will stir the legislature all up again. If that happens, we could potentially be back to square one,” he added.

Smith said he’s hoping Blagojevich will support the budget and sign all that’s included.

Smith said the forecasts he’s received about when things could happen in Springfield have not been very accurate.

“In October we were told we were going to get the money the first week of November, since the Chicago Transit Authority was in trouble, and they were going to put pressure on the governor and the legislature,” Smith said.

“We were told that we were going to get our money because Chicago was involved, and the CTA was in trouble. And I thought, ‘Well, I’ve already waited too long, but if we’re going to get it, great.’ Well, that was a month and a half ago, and the CTA has now been given emergency money to get through the new year,” he said.

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