Illinois House speaker's panel meets to discuss school funds

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - With the state's dire budget situation serving as an impetus, a bipartisan panel of House members Wednesday took up work begun by Democrats last summer to replace Illinois' school funding formula.

The task force, announced by Democratic House Speaker Michael J. Madigan last week, is reflective of one of the foremost emerging issues in Illinois' new period of divided government, one that's complicated by partisan and regional divides over how the state should allocate dollars to schools.

"The twin goals are equity and adequacy," House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, who chairs the panel, said.

One leading proposal from Democratic state Sen. Andy Manar would require schools to demonstrate need before receiving almost any state money by showing how much local revenue they have to spend on students. Wealthier districts that rely largely on property tax revenues to fund schools would receive less state aid, while property-poor districts would receive more.

GOP state Sen. Jason Barickman has filed legislation seeking to study the needs of every Illinois school district, leading to an evidence-based funding model.

Illinois schools currently receive general state aid funds to offset the basic cost of educating students through a formula factoring in poverty levels. Districts also get grants for programs such as special education and transportation, based on the number of students in those programs.

Since the funding formula was last overhauled in 1997, increases in spending on specialized programs have outpaced increases to general state aid - which those seeking to replace the formula say hurts the poorest districts most. For instance, schools in the small central Illinois community of Pana have roughly one-third of the available funds to spend per student compared with nearby Seneca, which draws more revenue from property taxes.

But lawmakers in wealthier districts may not want to give up state tax dollars.

"My tax burden is way up here. That seems to be the problem and the conflict that we have," GOP Rep. Michael Tryon, a Crystal Lake Republican and member of the panel, said. "Both adequacy and the tax burden are two things that have to be part of the equation."

The discussion comes as the state faces a roughly $6 billion revenue gap next year.

GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner has said the formula should be overhauled, though he hasn't detailed how. His proposed budget would boost early childhood and K-12 school funding by $300 million, but lawmakers in the Democratic-led General Assembly have blasted the plan, which makes steep cuts elsewhere.

The Large Unit District Association told the panel that time was of the essence, as further funding cuts to schools could place some districts on the brink of disaster.

"We have some districts that are very close to not being able to make payroll," Diane Rutledge, executive director of the association said. "This is one of those things that we can't be saying, 'Let's wait until next year.'"

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