Student Honors, School Calendar Debate, and Bonding Taxes Explained

The Springfield District 186 Board of Education celebrates student and staff achievements, debates school calendar options tied to state fair week, and weighs new bond proposals with pointed questions about long-term debt, sales tax promises, and potential property tax impacts. 12mins

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Original Meeting

Tuesday, February 17th, 2026
6695.0
Board Of Education Meeting | February 17, 2026
Full Meeting on YouTube
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Brian Wojcicki
Springfield, Illinois
Government Relations & Legal Services Professional
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In This Video
  • The Board of Education recognized the Lincoln Magnet 7th grade boys basketball team for achieving second place at the state IESA tournament and invited the team members to come forward.
  • Assistant Superintendent Jordan congratulated the team as coaches and players were presented certificates and organized a group photo.
  • Assistant Superintendent Jordan highlighted several celebrations, including a Southeast High student advancing to the state Poetry Out Loud competition, a district psychologist receiving a statewide lifetime membership award, the opening of nominations for district educator and administrator honors, and the upcoming Black History Bowl featuring a new local African American history round.
  • District representatives introduced discussion of the 2026–2027 school calendar as a joint effort between the district and all three unions, outlining two proposed options, recent teacher feedback, and inviting the local teachers' union representative to explain the goals of the collaboration.
  • Union representative Aaron Graves outlined the collaborative calendar committee’s goals, including balancing semesters, exploring an earlier August start despite fair traffic challenges, aligning with surrounding districts, and shifting more instructional days before winter break to support testing and curriculum needs.
  • Board Member Blissett clarified that the selected calendar would begin during the state fair and, speaking for impacted North End schools, raised concerns about lost fundraising opportunities and emphasized worries about student safety under the new schedule.
  • Assistant Superintendent Jordan explained that, based on the board’s feedback, district staff had already begun considering revisions and expected to prepare new calendar options for the next board meeting.
  • Director Miller opened three concurrent public hearings under the Bond Issue Notification Act to receive comments on proposals to issue up to $110 million in general obligation bonds for working cash needs, capital facility projects, building code compliance, and related issuance costs.
  • During the bond hearing, Board Member Miller asked Director Miller to clarify the district’s cumulative bonding—estimated at over $300 million—and how much principal had been repaid to date, with Director Miller explaining that about $5 million per year had been paid down, leaving roughly $275 million outstanding and likening the schedule to a standard loan amortization chart.
  • During the bond hearing, Board Member Miller and Director Miller explained that the district’s facility bonds functioned like a home mortgage, using ongoing revenue streams over many years rather than a lump sum to finance major projects.
  • During the bond hearing, Board Member Miller voiced concern that multiple layers of borrowing had exceeded initial expectations that the 1% sales tax—despite revenue growth of roughly 35–40%—would be sufficient to cover the bond payments.
  • During the bond hearing, Board Member Miller cautioned against relying on property tax increases to fund future facility projects, citing project cost overruns and stating support only for new facility construction-related bonding fully backed by sales tax revenue given competing demands on the district’s operating budget.
  • During the bond hearing, Director Miller responded to Board Member Miller’s concerns by explaining that the proposed $58 million in bonds would add a limited amount of about $16 per year in property taxes on a $125,000 home and walked through the assessed value and tax rate calculation used to reach that figure.
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