The Wilmette District 39 Board of Education approved a new five-year Strategic Plan and a tentative fiscal year 2027 budget at its Monday, June 15 meeting at the Mikaelian Education Center.

The Strategic Plan will guide curriculum, staffing, and resource decisions across all six D39 schools — Central, Harper, McKenzie, Romona, Highcrest, and Wilmette Junior High — through 2031.

The FY27 tentative budget projects revenues of $81,841,334 against expenditures of $81,100,213 for the Operating Funds, leaving a modest surplus on the year. The district's budgeted year-end Operating Fund balance is estimated at $32,810,561, representing 40.46 percent of annual expenditures held in reserve — a figure that reflects a financially stable district by Illinois school finance standards.

The board also approved a tentative budget for the Wilmette Community Special Education Agreement, known as WCSEA, which is the joint special education cooperative operated between D39 and neighboring Avoca School District 37. That budget was $236,268 in 2026.

The full tentative FY27 budget is available for public review at the D39 BoardDocs portal.

Behind the healthy balance sheet is a persistent workforce problem. The district is still actively recruiting paraprofessionals for the 2026-27 school year, a shortage that directly affects students with IEPs and 504 plans at all six schools.

The problem is not new. Board personnel records show that between June and August 2025, D39 recorded 15 paraprofessional resignations while hiring only five replacements. That's a net loss of ten support staff heading into last school year. The district has not yet indicated whether this summer's numbers will be better.

Paraprofessionals provide one-on-one and small-group support to students with disabilities. When positions go unfilled, the impact falls most heavily on the district's most vulnerable learners.

Under Illinois law, a tentative budget requires a public hearing before it can be formally adopted. D39 adopted its FY26 final budget on August 25, 2025, and a similar timeline would place the FY27 final vote on Monday, August 24, 2026 at 7 p.m.

Board meeting minutes from the June 15 meeting, including vote tallies, had not been posted as of June 18. Residents can monitor wilmette39.org for updates.

The full tentative FY27 budget document can be reviewed at the D39 BoardDocs portal here.