Is Quinn's veto of U-46 funding bill a political move?

Gov. Pat Quinn's last-minute veto of school funding legislation Tuesday has Elgin Area School District U-46 officials seething.

But the freshman senator and legislation's sponsor - a member of Quinn's own party - sees the move as Illinois politics as usual, and doesn't expect that a promised fight in the House will have much success.

"Who, running for governor, would want to alienate 80 percent of the rest of the state and those who are interested in the well-being of those districts?" said Michael Noland, an Elgin Democrat. "He has to run in those districts, too. I think it's an understandably calculated decision."

The school code change, which passed both houses this spring, would have forced the state board of education to stop using tax rate estimates to determine the amount of local funding for school districts like U-46 whose boundaries overlap into multiple counties.

According to House sponsor Keith Farnham's estimate, the legislation would have provided U-46, which expects to begin the school year with a $40 million deficit, an extra $22 million in 2010-11.

U-46's 53 schools span 11 communities in Kane, DuPage and Cook counties.

The district believes it is losing out on millions in state aid each year by being designated a predominantly Kane County school district, though most of its taxable property has been in Cook County since 2004.

Officials contended that the legislation would simply cause the state to slice the educational funding pie differently and would make U-46 "whole" again, by taking money from other districts that, in its view, had been unfairly claiming it for years.

The more local tax revenue available to a school district, the less state funding it receives.

The "limiting rate" - the maximum property tax rate allowed under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law - determines the amount of local funding. If it is overestimated, it appears the district will receive more in local property taxes than it actually does, and the state delivers less funding based on the estimate.

In U-46's case, Kane County estimates DuPage and Cook counties' rates.

This past school year, district officials calculated they should have netted $69.7 million in general state aid. Had the Cook County rate been used, they would have gotten $78 million.

But with Kane County working as the dominant and estimating county, U-46 will get only $58.3 million.

The state gave U-46 a one-time $7.1 million "administrative fix" this year to help with the funding shortfall.

Noland's legislation would have forced the state board to readjust the limiting rate once the actual rate became available, and adjust general state aid payments.

In a letter to Senate members, Quinn said he "could not approve a measure that would boost state aid to one district at the expense of others."

U-46 Superintendent Jose Torres said the district was "frankly taken aback by the veto. We certainly expected the bill to be signed, and had conversations with the governor's office. "

In a statement, Farnham, an Elgin Democrat, said Tuesday he is "refusing to give up this fight."

When the legislature returns to Springfield in the fall, he said he will work to override the governor's veto.

While Quinn's veto could, theoretically, be overridden by a three-fifths vote in the general assembly, Noland said he doesn't see that happening.

"Absent additional funding, who is going to be in favor of this?" he said.

Torres said the school board will discuss at their meeting Monday what actions to take now.

The state board of education, which did not support the legislation on the basis that it would not address other tax-capped districts with overlapping counties, said Wednesday it was too soon to say how or whether it might help.