Illinois public school funding structure is complicated with different formulae for General State Aid computed on average daily attendance figures and percentage of pupils under the poverty level, which is increasing as our nation’s wealth continues to flow up toward the top 20 percentile. We can count on increased property taxes, which go to the school districts. And the “temporary income tax increase” slated to expire next January will probably be extended because Illinois’ financial crisis is massive and ongoing. Decades of mismanaged pension funds and other corruption have led to funds being diverted from schools and social services to pay into the underfunded pension system. Illinois has doubled the number of charter schools allowed in the state, which require rigorous standards and salaries linked to exam scores. There is a great income disparity among the 892 school districts; with some barely covering salaries and textbooks, while some “property-rich” are not really in need of the state aid. So I’m leaning toward the idea of the new funding structure , but I’d like to see Chicago included in the same formula as the rest of the state. Why is it that Chicago is always treated like a state unto itself? We all know the answer to that one.
Feb 21 2014
Should Illinois public school funding structure be changed?
Illinois public school funding structure is complicated with different formulae for General State Aid computed on average daily attendance figures and percentage of pupils under the poverty level, which is increasing as our nation’s wealth continues to flow up toward the top 20 percentile. We can count on increased property taxes, which go to the school districts. And the “temporary income tax increase” slated to expire next January will probably be extended because Illinois’ financial crisis is massive and ongoing. Decades of mismanaged pension funds and other corruption have led to funds being diverted from schools and social services to pay into the underfunded pension system. Illinois has doubled the number of charter schools allowed in the state, which require rigorous standards and salaries linked to exam scores. There is a great income disparity among the 892 school districts; with some barely covering salaries and textbooks, while some “property-rich” are not really in need of the state aid. So I’m leaning toward the idea of the new funding structure , but I’d like to see Chicago included in the same formula as the rest of the state. Why is it that Chicago is always treated like a state unto itself? We all know the answer to that one.
By spiritspeak • Community Roundtable 0