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Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday plans to propose a 6.7 percent increase in general school spending despite signals that he’ll call for major cuts elsewhere during his first budget speech.
A Rauner adviser said the governor will suggest a $300 million boost in general state aid, the main pot of state dollars for education. […]
The increase would build on the more than $4.5 billion lawmakers in general aid signed off on last year. However, it would fall $266 million short from what the Illinois State Board of Education says is needed to reach what’s called the “foundation level” — the minimum amount of spending per student to provide a basic education. That benchmark is $6,119 per pupil, which education officials said would require spending more than $5 billion a year.
Still, Rauner’s office said it was “proud of the commitment we are making in this budget,” saying education spending has been cut in recent years even when it didn’t need to be.
Discuss.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 9:57 am
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Previous Post: Today’s number: 54.5 percent
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So, a $400Million cut in higher education, and a somewhat less than $300 Million boost to pre-12.
Comment by walker Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 10:08 am
Where is this magic pot of money going to come from? Bruce you & your advisors need a reality check…oh btw the election is over
Comment by foster brooks Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 10:11 am
===Where is this magic pot of money going to come from?===
Subscribe or wait until noon.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 10:11 am
The foundation level in the General State Aid formula is well below the minimum needed to educate a child - and that is admitted by all. right now, school districts receive a “prorated” amount of General State Aid because the law/formula remains unchanged, but the State has budgeted too little to fund it for many years.
The proration disproportionately harms poorer school districts that rely on GSA. If 60% of my funding is dependent on GSA and there is a 80% funding level/proration - I just lost 12% of my whole budget.
In the collar counties, GSA typically supplies 10% of the budget revenue. So an 80% proration means I lost just 2% of my budget revenue.
So, funding the formula is important - not funding it contributes to Illinois’ major problem of disparity in education funding. The poor get poorer and the rich do OK.
Comment by archimedes Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 10:13 am
And all the education in the world does little good for kids whose lives are falling-apart in myriad ways that will be exacerbated by cuts in health and human services.
Comment by Linus Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 10:15 am
Contingent on fantasy cuts.
Comment by Wordslinger Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 10:16 am
Propping up education funding by taking a partial pension holiday? Wow! What a novel concept! That’s never been done before.
Comment by Juice Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 10:19 am
Ya I’m sure he’s looking into the pension pot of money. ..lets make the unfunded liability worse so the supremes have to go along with us
Comment by foster brooks Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 10:24 am
One, to say education funding has been cut in recent years is inaccurate. State funding for schools hasn’t been cut in recent years - it’s gone up slightly. Two, kind of hard to say you’re increasing money for education when you’re slashing funding for universities, isn’t it?
Comment by K Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 10:24 am
Rauner looks less and credible and it’s not taking him long.
Cuts will be made and K-12 should not have suffered from them. But an increase, even a static CPI, looks like grandstanding. And if he spares state day cay expenditures then we know we are in fantasy land.
Even if he would back a tax increase it would be necessary to pay all the backload of bills.
Comment by Federalist Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 10:46 am
Well said Word.
Comment by Norseman Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 11:01 am
It looks like educational wealth redistribution to me. Sounds like a great match for the current high demand for STEM graduates and low demand for those with only a high school education. Let’s move Illinois forward to the last century. It’s too bad the motto Forward has already been taken.
Comment by AC Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 11:46 am
A sad day for Illinois.
Comment by Precinct Captain Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 12:09 pm
Yes. He said education funding would be increased, but he didn’t tell us that the poor, the sick, the disabled, and college students would be the ones paying for it
Comment by truthteller Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 12:56 pm
Sad day for my Alma Mater and the other state universities. These Universities may have some excesses in the past, but have tried to mend their ways, trim their budgets etc. while still offering quality education.
When I see the Governor and the CA threatening the status of a world class university ( the Univ of Ill ) is totally unacceptable. When I attended the State funded close to 50% of the needed funding, now it is maybe 10%!!!!
And my nephew and nieces are paying the price to get their college education in Illinois.
Comment by illini Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 3:43 pm
Illini, now we’ll see how smart the administration of U of I are. They haven’t shown much in the past. I’d like to see a comprehensive evaluation of University operations, spending and staffing from a outside source. I’ve asked the alumni association about that, but I didn’t get any response. Are you aware of any such public evaluation?
Comment by Arizona Bob Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 5:03 pm
Great! More money for ISBE to dole out as bonuses management.
Comment by Beagle Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 5:17 pm
Make that “to” management.
Comment by Beagle Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 5:18 pm
To ArizonaBob - I have not seen an outside public evaluation, but I have looked at info from the Alumni Assoc, Illinois Connection as well as some other sources and am relatively satisfied that the U of I is doing a better job recently in terms of their “overhead” ie administrative budget costs are.
That is not to say that they can not continue to improve, while continuing to provide a quality education. There is always room for improvement and I do not intend to be an apologist for an institution that I hold very dear, but my issue is as much with the Sate and the GA as it is with the University.
We both want the best for our Alma Mater, but to put the burden on the Undergraduate in state students is unfair. Out of state and International students is another matter, but they do add to the mix to make this still a very special institution.
Comment by illini Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 5:39 pm
Since the statistics show that there is no relation between spending on education (except in grades up to grade 3)in Illinois schools and educational outcomes. The proposed $300M increase in basic state aid will thus be of almost no help to the children. Considering the other proposed budget cuts, the money could have been spent better in other areas of the budget.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 7:56 pm
and da schools can use the extra to make up for cuts to transportation and special ed
early looks like bad “trade”
Comment by anonin' Wednesday, Feb 18, 15 @ 9:08 pm
Some comments on BR’s proposal from a school board member:
1. More K-12 funding? I’ll believe it when I see it (and ending the proration should be the minimal step to take).
2. Sounds like a lot of money, but when you spread it over every public school student in the state (K-12), it’s not so much.
3. He’d be better off offering a plan that pushes district consolidation. 860-ish school districts in a state of 12 million residents?
Take out District 299 (Chicago Public Schools) and their students, then do the math. The small number of students per average district is absolutely insane, and a tremendous amount of overhead swallowing dollars that were meant for the classroom.
Comment by Lynn S. Friday, Feb 20, 15 @ 12:20 am
Folks also realize that schools are funded out of local property taxes, right? So I understand that freezing local property taxes would benefit someone who owns a home on the North Shore and a Chicago condo that allows his daughter to apply for admission in a selective enrollment high school within the Chicago Public School system, but it will strangle many school districts within Illinois. And how will these school districts get more $$$ from a state so broke it prorates the current state aid, much less make up for the money lost under a property tax freeze?
If BR is as smart as they say (despite all the dropped g’s), I don’t understand how Nancy Arduin & co. sold this to him and his team.
Comment by Lynn S. Friday, Feb 20, 15 @ 12:52 am