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Facing a $5 billion budget deficit, Gov. Rod Blagojevich today announced in his
budget address that he would keep his pledge to put adequate education funding
at the top of his agenda.
A
cornerstone of the governor’s budget is a $250 increase in the per-pupil amount
the state guarantees for education, raising it from $4,560 per year to $4,810,
representing an increase of $235 million for general state aid.
The governor's proposal exceeds the $200
per-pupil increase recommended by the Illinois State Board of Education in its
fiscal year 2004 budget request.
With
over 80 percent of state school districts deficit spending, one in three in
financially dire straits (on the State Board’s financial watch and warning
lists), and the failure of more than half of the April 1st school tax increase
referenda at the local level, the Governor's proposal is a step in the right
direction.
“Given
the scarce budgetary resources this year, this is a meaningful down payment by
the governor toward making adequate education funding a reality,” said Bindu
Batchu, manager, Network 21: Quality Schools for Stronger Communities. “This
budget acknowledges the precarious fiscal position of many districts, and the
need to increase the state share of school funding -- which ranks 48th out of 50
states,” she added.
Despite
this major first step, the state is still far short of the $5,665 annual amount
state-commissioned research has proven is required to deliver a quality
education for all Illinois schoolchildren.
Education reform advocates will look to the governor to begin
implementation of a plan to increase funding to provide an adequate education
for every child, and ultimately decrease the over-reliance on the property tax
to fund schools in Illinois before the end of his first
term.
Ill. Sen. Miguel
del Valle (D-Chicago),
chair of the Senate Education Committee,
said, “I commend the governor and Bureau of
the Budget Director John Filan for creating the means to protect education from
cuts and move Illinois a little closer to the minimum per-pupil recommendations
put out by the state's Education Funding Advisory Board.
However, we are still far from where we
need to be on this foundation level.
I am concerned that some of the measures used to plug the budget gap this
year might have grave impacts on our fiscal situation in 2005.
Ultimately, we still need major
structural tax reform to reduce the over-reliance on the property tax and
provide a quality education for every child in Illinois.”
Absent
from the governor's proposal is a plan to change the amount of funds allocated
for educating poorer students, nor does it change how those funds are
distributed, both priorities for Network 21.
Explained
Batchu, “The current poverty count system uses an outdated Census count, updated
only once every 10 years, to measure the number of poor students in
schools.
A switch to using annual,
updated numbers provided by the Department of Human Services would allow funds
to reach students in the most need.
HB 430, which has passed the House and is currently in the Senate, offers
one way to address these issues.”
Ralph
Martire, executive director, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, said,
“It's great that in a tight fiscal situation the governor has found a little
extra money for schools.
However,
in the longer-term, we need to deal with the structural problem at the state
level, and increase state-based revenues to fund education.”
Springfield School District 186 is among 183 districts in
the less-severe "early warning" category on the State Board’s financial watch
list. After voters rejected a tax increase last fall, the district cut $10
million from its budget. Dr. Diane K. Rutledge, Springfield Public School
District 186 superintendent, said, "Our
school district is committed to maintaining a balanced budget, which currently
can only be accomplished by annually cutting programs and supports for students.
It is encouraging to know the governor is showing effort to comply with his
campaign promise to put education first. In Springfield, the governor’s actions
today will have no effect. By increasing the foundation level, but reducing the
ADA Block Grant and holding categoricals even, there appears to be no new
dollars for our district. Although there is still a long way to go to adequately
fund education in Illinois, every step towards this goal is greatly appreciated
and we will remain hopeful for the future.”
Significant
in the governor’s budget proposal is a $30 million increase for early childhood
education. Research consistently shows important benefits early childhood
education provides for young children, their families and society.
The governor's investment here,
especially in these difficult financial times, is laudable.
Districts
will also likely benefit from increased funds for programs they are required by
state and federal law to implement, known as mandated categoricals, largely in
the arena of special education.
Costs for implementing these programs are rising dramatically.
The governor's proposed increase of
$87.5 million will help districts meet these mandates.
Community
Unit School District 300 i
n
Carpentersville,
which depends heavily on funds for categorical programs, receives 65 percent of
its operating budget from property tax payers. Said Dr.
Ken
Arndt, the district’s superintendent, “Many
people
in our area are requesting significant property tax relief. It’s not that they
don’t support public education; it’s just that enough is enough. In order to
provide relief to homeowners, there has to be an expansion of the state’s
revenue base.”
While
the governor's proposal includes continuation of a popular school construction
program funded through bonds in FY 2004, there is no mention of extending the
program into FY 2005 -- which would provide the minimum advance notice school
districts require to begin planning for such initiatives.
Last week, a bill to provide such
bonding authority for school construction projects was defeated in the
Senate.
Network
21, a statewide coalition coordinated by the Metropolitan Planning Council,
launched an intensive statewide advocacy campaign in September of 2002 to reform
public education funding, quality and accountability. Its top priorities are to
ensure
that education funding is sufficient to provide a quality education for every
student in Illinois;
s
upport
funding options that decrease reliance on local property taxes; advance quality
reforms that improve education outcomes for all children; and support policies
that improve access and use of technology in all public
schools.
For more information contact:
Bindu Batchu — 312.307.3162 (cell)
Scott Goldstein — 312.863.6003