Money for schools uncertain as plan fails in Illinois House

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - An education funding overhaul failed in the Illinois House on Monday, leaving money for more than 800 districts statewide uncertain as the new school year is starting.

Lawmakers voted 46-61 on a plan that would have provided general state aid to districts for the first time this academic year. The measure needed 71 yes votes to pass and move to the Illinois Senate.

Legislators have been unable to agree on a way to fund schools, even as lawmakers from both parties agree the way money is currently distributed is unfair and creates huge disparities between wealthy and poor districts. Without state money, school officials have said they will be able to open classrooms for the new school year, but many districts worry they will run out of money if the impasse isn't resolved soon.

The plan debated Monday was hammered out by legislative leaders in closed-door meetings. It would've increased money for all districts and created a $75 million tax credit program for people who donate to private school scholarships.

Many Democrats and some Republicans opposed the tax credit, which teacher unions lined up against. Other lawmakers said the measure was a "bailout" for Chicago schools and spent money Illinois doesn't have.

The bill's sponsor, Democratic state Rep. Will Davis, said after the vote they remained "optimistic" as legislators were expected to return to the House floor for more votes Monday night. But Davis said they must pass a funding plan soon or students will suffer the consequences.

Some of Illinois' largest teacher unions accused Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who used his veto powers on an earlier school funding bill, of using students "as leverage for private school tax credits."

"Taxpayer dollars should be invested in our public school classrooms, plain and simple," Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery said. "The governor's proposal gives the wealthy another break while robbing our public schools of students and dollars."

The legislation that failed Monday provided $75 million for tax credits. The credit would be worth 75 percent of a taxpayer's annual contributions to a scholarship fund, with a maximum credit of $1 million annually. The money may be donated to a specific school or "subset" of schools, but not to a specific student.

Students receiving the scholarships must have a total household income of less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level, or $73,800 annually for a family of four. Religious leaders, including Cardinal Blase Cupich of the Archdiocese of Chicago, have lobbied for the credit.

Public schools won't get state money until there's a new funding formula because the budget lawmakers approved last month requires it.

Earlier this year Democrats approved legislation that provided money to the state's neediest districts first, and that provided additional funding to districts that serve larger numbers of students in poverty or who are English-language learners.

But Rauner used his veto authority to make changes to the legislation, saying it provided too much money to financially strapped Chicago Public Schools.

The Illinois Senate voted to override Rauner's changes, with one Republican joining majority Democrats. The House put off a vote because of leaders' negotiations on a fresh deal. An override requires a three-fifths majority. The House would need Republican support to succeed.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, has said that if they couldn't reach a bipartisan agreement his chamber would hold an override vote on the original school funding bill. The deadline for the House to act on that legislation is Tuesday.

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The new bill is SB1947.

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Associated Press writer Sophia Tareen contributed from Chicago.

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