State superintendent: education cuts 'devastating'

SPRINGFIELD - The head of the Illinois State Board of Education says proposed cuts in education funding could be "devastating" to school districts.

State superintendent Christopher Koch's comments were reported by the Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers.

He says if the proposed cuts are approved, some districts might "not make it through the school year."

The ISBE is asking for a $1 billion increase in funding, while a preliminary revenue blueprint shows a potential $1 billion decrease.

The potential cuts come as state officials debate whether to change the school funding formula, which hasn't been updated since the mid-1990s.

That proposal would put almost all state education funding into one pot and require districts to demonstrate need.

The current method factors in poverty for some types of state aid, but not others. It also treats Chicago school funding differently.