State law diverts public money to private schools

Illinois private schools will receive millions of public dollars previously reserved for public schools, under the budget implementation law passed Thursday.

The provision was tucked into the legislation that increased funding for public schools by $560 million this year.

State-recognized private schools, for the first time, now can access a state grant -- worth about $75 million this year -- that provides funding for textbooks and software, criminal background checks, and health and safety mandates.

Last year, every public school district in the state received about $40 per student through the grant. The rate will drop now that non-public schools have been added to the mix.

Some public school advocates opposed the measure, saying the state shouldn't be in the business of funding private schools.

"The precedent is huge," said Ben Schwarm, associate executive director of the Illinois Association of School Boards.

The state already allocates public dollars to private schools for textbooks. Parents who drive their students to private schools also can receive transportation reimbursements from the state.

Still, the new law "goes far beyond what the state has ever done before," Schwarm said. "This is not going away anytime soon. If anything, it will expand."

The legislation will give a major boost to Catholic schools, said a representative from the Catholic Conference of Illinois, which lobbied for the measure.

"This was our primary goal this year," said Zach Wischmann, associate director for education for the Catholic Conference, the political arm of the Illinois Catholic church.

The grant money will help Illinois private schools bear the extra costs of various mandates handed down by the state, Wischmann said.

"The General Assembly every year adds to the list of unfunded mandates for non-public schools," Wischmann said. "They think the mandates are important, so we should have some help paying for them."

House Speaker Michael Madigan threw his support behind the measure, Wischmann said.

In 2000, Madigan and the Catholic Church were forced to abandon a similar plan that would have sent $12 million in public funds to private and church-based schools. That money, too, was to be allocated on a per-pupil basis and was meant to cover state mandates.

At the time, Madigan blamed teachers unions for gathering opposition to the bill. Union representatives said the plan could open the door for more public funding of private schools.

Schwarm's group, which lobbies on behalf of school boards and school administrators, also opposed the 2000 plan, for the same reasons they opposed this plan. "We raised a fit," Schwarm said.

This time around, the opposition was more muted.

"We opposed it, but most of the provisions were done behind closed doors," Schwarm said. "Once the train leaves the station, it's hard to do something about it."