The state’s new school funding package may have been billed as a way to funnel more money to poor schoolchildren in Illinois but it actually could benefit diverse districts in areas ranging from urban Chicago to booming Aurora, Elgin and Naperville.
But other Chicago area school districts, particularly high school districts, are set to receive little or no funding increase under Gov. Jim Edgar’s $485 million plan.
Al Grosboll, Edgar’s senior education adviser, said the reason is because the funding plan is designed to guarantee that every school district in Illinois spends at least $4,225 a year on each student. That means districts with strong tax bases but a large number of students are just as likely to receive large sums of money as districts serving poor communities.
“The reason some school districts in DuPage County are receiving more money is because they are experiencing extraordinary enrollment growth” Grosboll said. “The reason Chicago is receiving more money is because of the large number of poverty children in the district.”
The state’s formula for allocating money to individual districts considers three main factors: the property tax base, enrollment growth and poverty. The 1998 allocations will be made in August and based only on the latest figures at that time. The plan passed by the General Assembly on Dec. 2 is financed by increases in telephone, cigarette and riverboat casino taxes.
Illinois Board of Education spokeswoman Kim Knauer said projections show that Chicago will receive the most money next year, about $105 million. In addition, Chicago officials expect to see an additional $10 million from grant money distributed by the state and $15 million from a revamping of the pension fund. Although the new law guarantees that no district will see funding cuts in the upcoming year, some districts stand to lose funding after the 1999-2000 school year.
Paul Vallas, chief of the city schools, said the district will use the additional funding to expand preschool, after-school and tutorial programs; extend mandatory summer school program to 1st and 2nd graders; and strengthen the district’s principals’ and teachers’ academies. In addition, the district plans to build 20 new schools to replace run-down buildings and renovate 62 schools.
“Because we have a balanced budget, this money will go toward sustaining and expanding the new programs we put in place in the last couple of years,” said Vallas, who lobbied extensively in Springfield for the plan.
Some west suburban school districts also profited. Cicero School District 99 is scheduled to receive about $6.3 million more next year, Berwyn South District 100 will receive nearly $1.7 million more, and Berwyn North District 98 is scheduled to receive about $1.5 million extra, according to state figures.
Still, many school districts in the Chicago area will not see any funding come their way–including several high school districts that are grappling with large classes and financing counseling and athletic services.
Unlike the current school aid formula, the new plan favors neither elementary school nor high school districts. State officials used to favor high schools–counting each student as 1.25 students for funding purposes–because they thought high schools needed more money for sophisticated equipment, Knauer said. But officials now reason that money spent in the formative years is just as important.
That change in attitude has raised the ire of some school districts that depend on state support to operate.
Donald Offerman, superintendent of Oak Park-River Forest High School in Oak Park, said his district received about $5 million in state aid some six years ago but now receives about $1.2 million. Though the law ensures that no school district will receive less money from the state next year, the provision expires after one year.
As a result, Offerman said the district could lose a half-million dollars the year after next.
“If this plan had held the high school student count at one and a quarter, then I think it would be a realistic plan,” said Offerman, whose stable 2,700-student enrollment includes about 400 students who are classified by the state as low-income.
Offerman said the district–which he said has above-average class sizes and strong tax support from homeowners–could be “devastated” by the plan in upcoming years. The high school district’s counseling services, athletic programs, equipment supply and technology could be significantly reduced with any funding cut.
“It’s very clear to me that there are extraordinary costs that are associated with high schools that are not associated with elementary schools,” Offerman said.
Other districts may not see cuts, but they probably won’t see any substantial gains in state funding either.
In West Northfield District 31, which is projected to receive about $3,700 more in the first year, officials say grant provisions in the law might help them build a new school if the voters ever approve a construction referendum proposal. Voters there last month refused to approve a $10.8 million bond issue for a new middle school.
“If we were able to pass a referendum to approve construction for a third school, we might be eligible to get the state to pay for up to 35 percent of that. That is the part of the bill that we are very happy about,” said Karen Corrigan, communications coordinator for the district.
Evanston’s two school districts, including Evanston Township High School, are not expected to receive any new money under the plan.
In Wilmette District 39, officials are wrestling with a nearly $2 million deficit, and are scheduled to receive about $59,000 more next year.
“We’ve received no information from the state of Illinois,” said business manager Jim Mattern, “but absolutely we’d welcome” any new money.
