Post by title1parent on Aug 3, 2008 4:57:59 GMT -5
www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=225137&src=1
School leaders say funding answer still elusive
By Matt Arado | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 8/3/2008 12:02 AM
Another school year will soon get started, which means another debate about how to fund public education in Illinois.
State Sen. James Meeks of Chicago's South Side got the conversation going recently when he urged Chicago students to skip class on Sept. 2, the first day of school in the city, and try to enroll instead at Winnetka's New Trier High School.
Meeks hopes the protest will shine a light on what he considers to be an unfair school funding system in Illinois, one that favors rich areas over poor ones. The New Trier district, with two high school campuses, spends about $17,000 a year on each of its students, while Chicago Public Schools, a unit district that includes both elementary and high schools, spends about $10,000.
Suburban school leaders understand Meeks' frustration, and they agree that the existing funding system benefits certain districts more than others.
The key, they say, is finding a solution that will equalize funding levels without hurting suburban schools.
"We're very protective of the resources we have," said Bill Dussling, a school board member in Northwest Suburban High School District 214. "We don't want to see that jeopardized."
Illinois schools derive the bulk of their money from local property taxes, a system that can give districts in property-rich areas a distinct funding advantage.
Some have suggested that property taxes be supplemented by revenue from a statewide tax, such as an income or sales tax, in order to offset that advantage.
Suburban school leaders remain cautious about that idea. Dussling, who's been on the District 214 board for 11 years, believes that could leave suburban districts with less money and less control.
"The linchpin of school districts is local control," he said. "I don't want the state to take a role in telling us what to do."
District 214, which covers Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Mount Prospect and several neighboring suburbs, spends about $14,500 on each student, according to the most recent state report card.
"My job in District 214 is try to do the best I can for this community," Dussling said. "The people here like what the schools provide, and we can't endanger that."
Ken Kaczynski, the school board president in Elgin Area School District U-46, said the funding question pulls him in different directions. On the one hand, it bothers him that some districts can barely raise enough money to provide basic services.
"If this is the land of opportunity, then we as a state and as a society have an obligation to create those opportunities for everyone, as best we can," he said.
At the same time, Kaczynski said he's not yet convinced that moving away from property taxes is the way to solve the problem. Property taxes provide exactly the kind of stable, reliable funding source that schools need if they're to sustain academic progress, he said.
"Would a different kind of tax be as reliable? I think it's still pretty unclear," he said.
U-46, a unit district, spends about $9,000 per student.
Suburban education leaders pointed out that even "property-rich" districts can find it difficult to cover expenses while providing the academic results their communities expect.
Tax caps place a limit on how much schools can get from property taxes, while costs related to things like fuel and health care continue to rise.
"All of us use the money we have," said Stephen Daeschner, superintendent of Indian Prairie Unit District 204. "But at the same time, we never have enough. I would like to see schools all over the state funded better, but I'm not sure at this point how we'd go about it."
District 204, which spends about $8,600 per student, covers portions of Aurora, Naperville, Plainfield and Bolingbrook.
Donald Schlomann, superintendent of St. Charles Unit District 303, believes that relying less on property taxes would help make school funding more equitable, and that politics is the biggest obstacle to making that happen.
District 303, a unit district, spends about $9,300 per student.
"I think there would be a way to make it work without hurting the kids out here in the suburbs, but we'd have to put aside politics to get there," Schlomann said.
The worst thing would be to do nothing, as underfunded districts in one area can hurt everyone down the road, Schlomann said.
"As a statewide system, we're only as strong as our weakest link," he said. "If we're failing to educate children somewhere, whether it's St. Charles or Chicago or anywhere in the state, and we have to remediate them down the line in the prison system or elsewhere, that's not a good way of doing things
School leaders say funding answer still elusive
By Matt Arado | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 8/3/2008 12:02 AM
Another school year will soon get started, which means another debate about how to fund public education in Illinois.
State Sen. James Meeks of Chicago's South Side got the conversation going recently when he urged Chicago students to skip class on Sept. 2, the first day of school in the city, and try to enroll instead at Winnetka's New Trier High School.
Meeks hopes the protest will shine a light on what he considers to be an unfair school funding system in Illinois, one that favors rich areas over poor ones. The New Trier district, with two high school campuses, spends about $17,000 a year on each of its students, while Chicago Public Schools, a unit district that includes both elementary and high schools, spends about $10,000.
Suburban school leaders understand Meeks' frustration, and they agree that the existing funding system benefits certain districts more than others.
The key, they say, is finding a solution that will equalize funding levels without hurting suburban schools.
"We're very protective of the resources we have," said Bill Dussling, a school board member in Northwest Suburban High School District 214. "We don't want to see that jeopardized."
Illinois schools derive the bulk of their money from local property taxes, a system that can give districts in property-rich areas a distinct funding advantage.
Some have suggested that property taxes be supplemented by revenue from a statewide tax, such as an income or sales tax, in order to offset that advantage.
Suburban school leaders remain cautious about that idea. Dussling, who's been on the District 214 board for 11 years, believes that could leave suburban districts with less money and less control.
"The linchpin of school districts is local control," he said. "I don't want the state to take a role in telling us what to do."
District 214, which covers Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Mount Prospect and several neighboring suburbs, spends about $14,500 on each student, according to the most recent state report card.
"My job in District 214 is try to do the best I can for this community," Dussling said. "The people here like what the schools provide, and we can't endanger that."
Ken Kaczynski, the school board president in Elgin Area School District U-46, said the funding question pulls him in different directions. On the one hand, it bothers him that some districts can barely raise enough money to provide basic services.
"If this is the land of opportunity, then we as a state and as a society have an obligation to create those opportunities for everyone, as best we can," he said.
At the same time, Kaczynski said he's not yet convinced that moving away from property taxes is the way to solve the problem. Property taxes provide exactly the kind of stable, reliable funding source that schools need if they're to sustain academic progress, he said.
"Would a different kind of tax be as reliable? I think it's still pretty unclear," he said.
U-46, a unit district, spends about $9,000 per student.
Suburban education leaders pointed out that even "property-rich" districts can find it difficult to cover expenses while providing the academic results their communities expect.
Tax caps place a limit on how much schools can get from property taxes, while costs related to things like fuel and health care continue to rise.
"All of us use the money we have," said Stephen Daeschner, superintendent of Indian Prairie Unit District 204. "But at the same time, we never have enough. I would like to see schools all over the state funded better, but I'm not sure at this point how we'd go about it."
District 204, which spends about $8,600 per student, covers portions of Aurora, Naperville, Plainfield and Bolingbrook.
Donald Schlomann, superintendent of St. Charles Unit District 303, believes that relying less on property taxes would help make school funding more equitable, and that politics is the biggest obstacle to making that happen.
District 303, a unit district, spends about $9,300 per student.
"I think there would be a way to make it work without hurting the kids out here in the suburbs, but we'd have to put aside politics to get there," Schlomann said.
The worst thing would be to do nothing, as underfunded districts in one area can hurt everyone down the road, Schlomann said.
"As a statewide system, we're only as strong as our weakest link," he said. "If we're failing to educate children somewhere, whether it's St. Charles or Chicago or anywhere in the state, and we have to remediate them down the line in the prison system or elsewhere, that's not a good way of doing things
