D303 Referendum 2026: Enrollment Down, Spending Up 38% — Where Is the Money Going?

St. Charles District 303 has fewer students, more employees, and rising costs per student. With enrollment down 3.9%, employee payroll listings up 7.9%, and per-student spending up 38% since 2019, taxpayers deserve answers. Before approving $282.5 million in new bonds, examine the financial numbers, campaign funding, and questions surrounding district spending.

D303 referendum: St. Charles school enrollment down while costs rise, $282.5 million bond question

NOVEMBER 3, 2026 • FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

ENROLLMENT DOWN.
SPENDING UP.
WHY?

The figures behind District 303's proposed $282.5 million bond authorization — and the financial questions that deserve clear answers.

DATA FIRST • OPEN QUESTIONS CLEARLY MARKED

Four numbers worth examining

Different periods and definitions are shown below. Each statistic is labeled so it is not confused with an audited payroll or per-pupil expense.

ENROLLMENT · 2019–2024−3.9%

12,180 → 11,699 students; −481

PAYROLL LISTINGS · 2019–2024+7.9%

1,947 → 2,101 people listed; +154, not FTE

CURRENT SPENDING / STUDENT · FY2019–24+38.0%

$15,812 → $21,826, nominal; prior compiled series, verification caveat below

THREE OPERATING FUNDS · FY2023–25+$20.36M

$202.09M → $222.45M (+10.1%); official report

1. The divergence: fewer students, more payroll records

Indexed change from 2019 = 100. Payroll-listing headcounts are not equivalent to full-time-equivalent employees.

Enrollment and employee figures sourced from previously compiled Census and annual GovSalaries comparisons. The six years are illustrative of opposite trends; staffing must be reconciled using NCES full-time-equivalent positions.

Student enrollment

201912,180

202411,699

Change: −481 students (−3.9%).

People in salary listings

20191,947

20242,101

Change: +154 people (+7.9%); these are not FTE staffing counts.

QUESTION: Did special education, student support needs, school-level staffing requirements, or central administration drive the changes? A six-year FTE breakdown by job category would answer that more clearly.

2. Actual operating spending is up $20.36 million

Official district FY2025 disclosure. Figures cover the Education, Operations & Maintenance, and Transportation Funds only — not total district spending.

Three-fund spending

Where the increase occurred

Education Fund+$13.47M

Operations & Maintenance+$3.93M

Transportation+$2.97M

FY2023 to FY2025 annual expenditure increases. Education accounts for about 66% of the change in these funds.

Fund	FY2023	FY2025	Change
Education	$176.03M	$189.50M	+7.7%
Operations & Maintenance	$17.14M	$21.07M	+22.9%
Transportation	$8.91M	$11.88M	+33.3%
Combined	$202.09M	$222.45M	+10.1%

ACCOUNTABILITY QUESTION: What portion of the additional $13.47M in Education Fund expenditures came from classroom teachers, administrators, employee benefits, outside contractors, and student services?

3. Cost per student: a regional comparison

FY2024 current spending per student, excluding capital outlay and debt service. District figures below are from the earlier peer compilation and should be cross-checked against the FY2024 Census district microdata before publication; the national figure is confirmed by the Census Bureau.

St. Charles 303$21,826

Wheaton-Warrenville 200$20,298

Indian Prairie 204$19,401

Community Unit 300$18,172

U.S. average$17,619

D303 vs. U.S.+$4,207

Per pupil, FY2024 (23.9% higher)

D303 vs. Wheaton 200+7.5%

Using earlier peer compilation

D303 vs. District 300+20.1%

Using earlier peer compilation

Peer districts are not adjusted for special education, wages, transportation, student needs, or regional costs. This is a starting comparison, not a performance ranking. Naperville excluded.

4. What does a YES vote authorize?

PROPOSED BONDS$282.5M

Debt issuance requiring voter authorization

TOTAL ESTIMATED PROJECT PACKAGE$312.5M

Includes $30M in district resources

Project categories identified by the district

Repair and replacementRoofs • mechanical systems • facilities

Accessibility and safetyADA improvements • security

Classrooms and program spacesCareer & technical education • athletics

Bond amount is not the same as total lifetime debt service; interest, timing, assessed valuation and tax impact need separate estimates. See the district project plan for available detail.

5. Six answers residents can reasonably request

01 • STAFFINGHow many FTE positions?

Teacher, aide, special education, building administration and central office — every year since 2019.

02 • COMPENSATIONWhat drove payroll growth?

Separate wages, pensions, insurance, overtime, new hires and role changes.

03 • PROJECT COSTWhat is the project-by-project price?

Scope, independent estimates, contingency, procurement method and expected schedule.

04 • STUDENT CAPACITYWhich schools need more space?

Enrollment forecasts and actual utilization by campus, not just district totals.

05 • TAX IMPACTWhat is the all-in debt cost?

Estimated interest and household tax impacts under different assessed-value scenarios.

06 • CAMPAIGN FUNDINGWho paid for advocacy ads?

Identify independent committee contributions separately from publicly funded factual outreach.

Audits exist. D303 publishes annual audited financial statements. A separate operational, staffing or procurement review would answer different questions. The data on this page do not establish fraud, waste, or illegal referendum advertising.

Sources & important limits

Actual FY2025 operating fund figures are verified from the district disclosure. Earlier enrollment, payroll listing, and district-level per-pupil comparisons were carried forward from a prior compiled review and require reconciliation with primary source datasets before being treated as definitive. FY2026 budgets are projections, not FY2026 audited actuals.

The FY2024 national average of $17,619 comes from the U.S. Census Bureau. Source comparisons use different fiscal and school-year periods. Figures cannot be added together across distinct definitions.

THE RATE UPDATE • D303 SCHOOL REFERENDUM • OCTOBER 15, 2026
Independent financial review. Not affiliated with St. Charles Community Unit School District 303. Illustrative school photo generated for this page.