Administrator-consolidation bill would boost school quality in Illinois

"Our tax bills are too high. If we are truly interested in reducing our property tax responsibility, we really have to start with the school districts," Illinois state Rep. Rita Mayfield, a Waukegan Democrat, said during a press conference at the Statehouse March 13. "I need to see money in the classrooms. I want to know my tax dollars are being spent … efficiently."

No one wants to spend more to get less, but Illinois accepts that for its students. Our neighbors - Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana - spend between $2,400 and $4,000 less per student but all three states score better on K-12 math and reading proficiency, according to the National Assessment of Education Progress.

The reason? Illinois has too many school districts, serving too few schools and too few students.

Rep. Mayfield, along with state Sen. Tom Cullerton, a Villa Park Democrat, are championing the Classrooms First Act, a bill that would make school funding more efficient by prioritizing education spending for students and teachers over costly administrators. I was honored to be in Springfield to support them and state lawmakers who want to protect their local school communities, while fighting to save taxpayers money.

The Classrooms First Act would create a School District Efficiency Commission. The commission would gather 20 education experts from across the state to ensure education spending is going where it's needed - to students, teachers and supplies - by offering specific recommendations to reduce the number of districts in Illinois by at least 25 percent.

The inefficiency of Illinois' 852 districts is clear when compared to other large states. If Illinois served the same number of students per district as California, we'd have about 340 districts. If we matched Virginia, we'd have only 210.

Illinois spends $536 per student on "general administration" costs - nearly double the national average. Imagine how much more money could go to new equipment or to teacher raises if Illinois were to make school districts more efficient.

There's another major benefit for Northwest suburban residents: school district efficiency could help offer relief for Illinois' second-highest-in-the-nation property taxes.

Cutting wasteful, excess administration could help save hundreds of millions of dollars - essentially new dollars from saved administrator compensation, selling unused buildings and economies of scale when grouping service contracts. All that money could then flow into classrooms, where learning and achievement are nurtured.

It's important to note what this bill does not do. The Classrooms First Act does not in any way combine, close or consolidate schools themselves. Everyone would get to keep their local mascots and school colors. The bill is only targeted at the top layer of school district administration.

Rep. Mayfield and Sen. Cullerton ensured the bill includes no mandates or one-size-fits-all solutions. And even better: after the commission makes its recommendations, it would be up to local voters in every affected school district to decide whether consolidation is right for them through a ballot initiative. This is important because it is often administrators who fight against school district efficiency.

"One of the things that really resonated [when writing the evidence-based funding formula] was the fact that the administrators who were coming before us were not interested in efficiencies if it came at the cost of their jobs," Rep. Mayfield said.

Rep. Mayfield's and Sen. Cullerton's Classroom First Act passed through its respective education committees and the Illinois House unanimously, and will now move to the Illinois Senate for a final vote. As these bills hopefully soon become law, Rep. Mayfield and Sen. Cullerton deserve praise for taking real steps to make sure school districts focus on classrooms, not bureaucracy.

Adam Schuster is the director of budget and tax research for the Illinois Policy Institute, a Chicago-based non-partisan think tank that promotes smaller government and free-market principles.