Editorial: Schools should not be hostage in budget battle
School funding in Illinois is caught in the battle between Gov. Bruce Rauner and the GOP and House Speaker Michael Madigan and the Democrats.
It's caused some, like Chicago schools CEO Forrest Claypool, to warn that school might not start on time in the fall if a compromise can't be reached on a state budget and schools aren't funded.
A host of other school superintendents joined Claypool in sounding the alarm bell as well, including superintendents from school districts in Aurora, Waukegan and North Chicago in an open letter to Rauner.
"Without funding that recognizes the needs of all of our state's students," they wrote. "the majority of school districts in Illinois will not be able to open their doors in the fall. ... This is a disaster that plagues districts across Illinois."
Indeed it is. And here in the suburbs, schools have had to make due as well despite the budget battle. But rather than focus on the sometimes negative aspects of salaries and pensions, Rauner and the legislators should also spend time studying what our schools are doing in the face of adversity and then reward them with a funding plan that makes sense moving forward.
This newspaper on Monday was chock-full of positive stories about our schools - stories that should make any legislator work that much harder to find a solution.
Indeed, if Rauner signs a bill creating the Illinois Global Scholar Certificate designation - as reported by staff writer Marie Wilson - he will be rewarding future students for their understanding of global communication and cultural responsiveness. And he would be rewarding Naperville Central High School teacher Seth Brady, project director for the innovative program.
"It's really cultivating the disposition to learn in any cultural context," Brady said.
Another story told how Elgin Area School District U-46 is going to expand its nationally renowned dual-language program to its seventh-graders coming this fall and eighth-graders the following year. "Students are able to develop a second language while maintaining their first. That's what we are most proud of ... No child has to lose a language to learn another language," said Annette Acevedo, director of programs for English Language Learners.
And in Roselle, the Lake Park High School district is doing its part to save money and help the environment by installing rooftop solar panels. It makes good financial sense and can be used to teach students about renewable energy.
Just three stories, all on one day. Districts do what they have to do to survive and thrive, but now it's our state politicians who need to do what they should have been doing all along - provide for the education of our state's children and not hold schools hostage.