An $11 million hole in Round Lake Area School District 116’s budget, blamed on the former chief financial officer, has been filled by cutting eight administrative positions and halving salary increases for all staffers for the next two fiscal years, with the approval of the teachers union.
The fix was announced during a special board meeting Wednesday evening, which was primarily a question-and-answer session for community members, who raised various concerns about the district following the embarrassing financial shortfall announced last month.
The salary modification, which reportedly had an 88% approval rate by the Education Association of Round Lake — the area’s teachers union — requires the district to repay the money essentially lent by the staff, “as future budget surpluses allow,” according to a press release, “ensuring that staff will ultimately be made whole.”
But some raised criticisms about the fix, wondering why teachers and staff were on the hook because of an error made by the administration, and several, including a district teacher, warned about potential impacts on teacher retention.
Budgeting shortfall
As Superintendent Donn Mendoza explained it, the initial error occurred during last year’s budgeting process, with two areas — staff salaries and special education costs — being under-budgeted. He has repeatedly emphasized that “money is not missing, fraud has not occurred,” but rather that the district has had to use money from its savings account to operate.
The “ripple effects” of the error on the 2025-26 and 2026-27 fiscal years total about $10.9 million. Additionally, the district was recently informed that its state funding was slashed in half, to about $1.2 million, according to Deputy Superintendent Heather Bennett. She said that was because Chicago Public Schools was recently recategorized to get more state funding, meaning less for D116.
Last year’s erroneous budget had actually shown roughly a $3 million surplus, and the issue wasn’t caught because the district “relies on the business manager/treasurer” to discover such issues and alert the board, according to a district presentation on the issue. New processes have been implemented to get more eyes on the budget process and prevent a similar situation in the future, Mendoza said.
Blame has been repeatedly placed on the former chief financial officer. While not named during any presentations, the district’s previous CFO was Pamela Kibbons, whose retirement was approved during a Dec. 18 special board meeting last year. The district’s current CFO is T. Ambs-Soule.
Mendoza said he could not give any comments on any potential legal actions against Kibbons for the alleged error. Kibbons could not be reached for comment.
The issue previously drew in crowds of residents during board meetings, but Wednesday’s special meeting was not nearly as well-attended, with less than a third of the room’s seats filled. Still, numerous residents gave comments sharing their concerns.
That included Andrea Eiter, a teacher at Round Lake House School. She shared an emotional statement explaining her reasons for supporting the salary-increase reduction.
“I became a teacher for the students, so I voted for the students,” Eiter said.
However, she warned about teacher retention issues in the district, and said she is “frustrated” by the “lack of accountability” for the situation in which the district has found itself. While Eiter said others in the community have called for board resignations, she took an opposite view, pushing the board to do more for teachers and “stick around and redeem yourself.”
“Just as I have cared for your very own students … I ask you to care for us,” Eiter said. “Our students deserve for you to take care of us so that we can continue to take care of them.”
Filling the hole
According to a district news release, the eight administrator positions will be eliminated for the 2026-27 school year. Roughly 40 to 50 staff positions will be eliminated through attrition, Mendoza said.
Non-grant-funded professional development for staff will be paused, overtime expenditures will be limited, and discretionary funds will be reduced by 10%. The superintendent will also take a voluntary reduction in his contractual salary for this and the next school year, and salary increases for administrators will also be reduced.
In the release, Mendoza praised the union’s decision as a “defining moment” for the district, expressing his “deepest gratitude” for staff having “stepped forward in support of our students,” and apologizing for the “stress and uncertainty” the financial controversy has caused.
“With overwhelming support, our staff banded together — not only for one another, but for the students and families we serve,” Mendoza said. “I am committed to ensuring a full financial recovery, and rebuilding the trust that was shaken. Because of EARL’s courage and leadership, we can now move forward with stability, protect programs for students, and restore the district’s history of strong financial health.”
EARL President Krisi Gatlin said she “could not be prouder” of the union’s members, praising their “courage and care” for the students during a moment that “tested all of us.”
“This decision was not easy, and I know the sacrifice is real,” Gatlin said. “Our educators are not only professionals — they are parents, neighbors and community members who give so much of themselves every day.”
