St. Charles CUSD 303
201 South 7th Street
St. Charles, IL 60174
The District 303 School Board and Administration value the contributions of our stakeholders and feel it is important to continually provide them with a strong school district that remains fiscally responsible in all areas.
Since 2013, District 303 has earned recognition status and a perfect 4.0 Financial Profile Score rating from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). This distinction is the State’s primary way to measure fiscal health in Illinois school districts.
Two of the five components of the financial profile score relate to debt. ISBE categorizes debt into two categories - short-term debt (often in the form of capital leases) and long-term debt (often in the form of bonds for buildings). District 303 has no short-term debt and The Board of Education has worked hard to pay down long-term debt over the past decade.
The District continues to demonstrate professional financial planning and reporting.
The school district engages in a five-year financial forecast process which ensures the annual budget is consistent with maintaining solid financial footing. District 303 has a long history of balanced operating budgets. The operating expenditures per pupil are $13,705 which compare slightly above the State average of $13,337.
The Board is committed to providing high quality resources to students at a reasonable cost. The project to expand and enhance the learning environments at both Thompson and Wredling Middle Schools began in 2017. By the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year, Wredling Middle School had 10 new science labs and a larger cafeteria.
The project at Thompson Middle School will continue through the summer of 2019. When the project is completed, the school will have 31 new classrooms, a new auxiliary gym, an expanded cafeteria, and a new track and field area. In addition, a bus drop off and pick-up area is being constructed behind the school to help alleviate congestion on Indiana and 7th Streets. This project was funded without referendum and will lead to operating efficiencies that save the District and taxpayers ongoing expenses of several hundred thousand dollars per year.
