Expecting Dad Joins Study Groups to Help Plan District 113’s Future

Adam Lyons decided to move back to his hometown for a number of reasons; District 113 was one of them. “I knew I got a great education here,” the 1994 DHS graduate said and wanted the same for his children. Lyons is expecting his first child in May.

However, Lyons did not support District 113’s referendum in April, 2011. “One of the things that concerned me was that it wasn’t clear from the first go around that
there had been a rigorous prioritization process,” he said. “Everything in the plan wasn’t a must have.”

Concerned about his taxes and interested in getting involved, Lyons decided to volunteer for one of District 113’s study groups when administrators sought community input.

“I’m one of those people that if I’m going to be against something I need to contribute to coming up with a solution that works,” Lyons stated. “I felt like whatever investments the District makes my children will benefit.”

In May, school administrators called on residents to help with Deerfield and Highland Park high school’s facility-technology plan. Volunteers were divided into six study groups of a market research, teaching and learning, PE/athletics/pool,
finance, building systems, and leadership team. Lyons, a manager of software
architects for IBM, was placed in the finance study group. He holds a master’s
degree in accounting from the University of Kansas. 

“I was just so impressed by the background and experience of the people on the committee,” he said. “When I think about what the District would have paid to have hired the people…We’re getting some of the best and brightest people in the country.”

Study group members have been meeting for months to determine how and where the high schools can improve. The finance study group, made up of volunteers with banking and investing experience as well as budgeting and cost management in both for profit and not-for–profit organizations, is trying to figure out how to fund upgrades at both high schools.

At the beginning of discussions, Lyons recalled his group having challenges forming a consensus. However, the process got easier as time went on. “By the end, it was really amazing on how much stuff we did come to an agreement on.”

In January, the finance study group presented its recommendations to the leadership team. Committee members came to the consensus that District 113’s fund balances should be carefully monitored and maintained at levels consistent with current board policy in order to sustain an AAA rating.

It’s been suggested that District 113 should tap into its fund balances for repairs.
According to Assistant Superintendent of Finance Barry Bolek, the fund balances
that exist are in place to maintain appropriate cash flow, manage unfunded
mandates and/or delayed reimbursements, and address emergencies. These fund
balances are also sustained in order to comply with state regulations. Because
of the District’s current prescribed fund balance levels, the school system has
maintained an AAA Moody rating.

“While is seems like a great idea on paper, there is so much complexity to how that accounting works. At any given time it might look like the District has all
this cash lying around but that’s not the case,” Lyons said. “We realized pretty quickly that there’s not much money that we could access without jeopardizing the AAA rating. That AAA rating is really important and we don’t want to risk it.”

Lyons said he’s confident in this new process, “I think it’s been so much better as far as the transparency than the last time around,” he explained and credits the
participation of community members who were both for and against the last plan.
“It’s very clear that there has been more of a prioritization process going on.”

Lyons mentioned that the high school buildings need to provide an up-to-date learning environment, which would include more flexibility with technology and teaching spaces. “Do I think that something needs to be done? Absolutely,” he said but wants to focus on the must haves while maintaining high academic standards.