Lake Forest School Spending: If Waukegan Found $10 Million, Why Can’t D115?

Waukegan just announced it is cutting up to $10 million from its school budget because long-term overspending “cannot continue.” That should get every Lake Forest and Lake Bluff taxpayer’s attention, especially as concerns grow over Lake Forest school spending, long-term debt, administrative costs, and classroom-level tradeoffs.

While Waukegan is making difficult decisions to protect long-term fiscal stability, Lake Forest High School District 115 is spending at record levels, carrying a major long-term debt burden, and continuing to spend heavily on administration, communications, consultants, travel, conferences, and professional development.

And now families are being told that budget pressures may require larger class sizes at Cherokee.

That is exactly backward.

If Waukegan, a district with fewer resources and greater student needs, can find $10 million, why can’t Lake Forest?

Three Fast Facts About Lake Forest School Spending

Before going further, here are three facts every taxpayer should know.

1. D115’s broad taxpayer cost is roughly $62,000 per student.

The 2025 Illinois Report Card lists Lake Forest High School District 115 at $84,368,026 in total district expenditures and 1,355 students. Divide total expenditures by enrollment, and the broad taxpayer footprint is approximately $62,000 per student.

The lower per-pupil number commonly cited by the state does not tell the full story because major categories, including capital outlay and debt service, are excluded from the narrower per-pupil calculation.

2. D115’s debt burden is not fully reflected in the per-student number most people see.

District referendum materials show that D115’s 2023 referendum involved a $105.7 million bond issuance over a 20-year repayment period. Once principal, interest, and other outstanding obligations are included, taxpayers could be responsible for a long-term debt burden approaching $200 million at D115 alone, assuming no additional bonds are issued.

That debt service is not fully captured in the official per-pupil figure most residents see.

3. Academic performance has not improved at anything close to the same rate as spending.

Lake Forest High School remains a strong school, and our students and teachers deserve credit for that. But LFHS was already a high-performing school years ago.

In 2010-11, LFHS was already reporting elite outcomes, including an average ACT score of 26.8, 82.1% PSAE proficiency, and a 94.2% graduation rate. Today, LFHS continues to perform well, with current Report Card data showing 85.5% ELA proficiency, 77.6% math proficiency, and a graduation rate just under 96%.

Those are strong results. But they do not show academic improvement anywhere close to D115’s spending growth. Taxpayers are paying dramatically more, while academic outcomes have remained strong rather than transformed.

That is the issue.

While classroom-level tradeoffs are being discussed, the district continues to spend at the administrative level on communications, consultants, professional development, travel, conferences, and other discretionary expenses.

Based on our ongoing review of district financial records, the Montgomery administration appears to have approved substantial taxpayer-funded professional-development travel, conference expenses, restaurant charges, and other discretionary spending.

We are still working through district finances, and our early estimates are subject to change. But so far, records appear to show Dr. Matthew Montgomery taking more than 40 school days in a single year for professional-development-related travel, with costs that appear to reach into the tens of thousands of dollars.

We are also reviewing restaurant and travel-related expenses that appear to total tens of thousands of dollars in a single year, including numerous charges at restaurants such as Wildfire and seafood establishments, with some single dining expenses incurred during travel exceeding $2,000.

That is not fiscal discipline.

That is fiscal recklessness.

So we are asking the D115 Board a simple question:

If Waukegan can find $10 million, why can’t Lake Forest?

Our call to both Boards of Education is simple: Find at least $10 million in frivolous, duplicative, or low-priority administrative, consulting, communications, travel, conference, legal, public-relations, restaurant, and other non-instructional spending—and redirect it into instruction.

Put it toward classroom teachers.

Put it toward reading and math intervention.

Put it toward special education.

Put it toward tutoring and direct student support.

Put it toward smaller class sizes.

Put it toward actual instruction.

And if there is no need to spend it, return the savings to taxpayers.

Where We Got These Facts

The spending and enrollment figures for Lake Forest High School District 115 come from the 2025 Illinois Report Card and publicly available district financial records. The broad taxpayer cost of approximately $62,000 per student was calculated by dividing D115’s reported total district expenditures of $84,368,026 by its reported enrollment of 1,355 students.

The comparison to Waukegan is based on Waukegan Community Unit School District 60’s public budget materials, reporting by the Lake & McHenry County Scanner, and Illinois Report Card data, including state-reported information concerning district funding adequacy.

The long-term spending comparison relies on historical expenditure data published in the Illinois State Board of Education’s Annual Statistical Reports. Historical dollar amounts were adjusted for inflation using Consumer Price Index data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The academic-performance comparison relies on current and historical public data, including the Illinois Report Card, archived state performance records, and publicly available data documenting Lake Forest High School’s longstanding academic performance.

References to taxpayer-funded travel, professional development, restaurant charges, conference expenses, and reimbursements are based on district financial records, board bill lists, expense and reimbursement records, and documents produced in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.

Supporting records and source links are available upon request and will be included in Parents Care’s continuing review of district spending.