Post by title1parent on Sept 3, 2008 5:09:18 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1141771,2_1_AU03_SKLCOSTS_S1.article
Local schools also feel lack of funding fairness
state, property tax contributions vary
September 3, 2008 Beacon
By ANDRE SALLES asalles@scn1.com
Can a broken school funding system be fixed?
That was a question in the forefront of many minds Tuesday, as Rev. James Meeks led a protest in Chicago, encouraging public school students to skip their first day and travel to New Trier High School in wealthy Northfield. The protest, Meeks said, was meant to highlight inequities in the school funding system, which leave poorer schools struggling.
It's a question many have asked locally as well, including officials at the Quad County Urban League, who joined with their Chicago counterparts in filing a civil rights lawsuit against the state of Illinois and the Illinois State Board of Education earlier this month.
How our local schools stack up
City of Chicago District 299
Property tax income: $4,876 per student
Expenses: $10,409 per student
East Aurora School District 131
Property tax income: $2,318 per student
Expenses: $8,619 per student
West Aurora School District 129
Property tax income: $4,562 per student
Expenses: $8,590 per student
Indian Prairie School District 204
Property tax income: $7,454 per student
Expenses: $8,639 per student
Batavia School District 101
Property tax income: $7,466 per student
Expenses: $8,386 per student
Geneva School District 304
Property tax income: $9,267 per student
Expenses: $9,807 per student
Kaneland School District 302
Property tax income: $6,238 per student
Expenses: $9,385 per student
St. Charles School District 303
Property tax income: $8,368 per student
Expenses: $9,345 per student
Oswego School District 308
Property tax income: $5,564 per student
Expenses: $8,182 per student
Yorkville School District 115
Property tax income: $4,669 per student
Expenses: $6,622 per student
Plano School District 88
Property tax income: $7,581 per student
Expenses: $7,347 per student
Hinckley-Big Rock School District 429
Property tax income: $8,044 per student
Expenses: $12,310 per student
Sandwich School District 430
Property tax income: $4,488 per student
Expenses: $7,189 per student
Somonauk School District 432
Property tax income: $5,400 per student
Expenses: $8,687 per student
The suit charges that the state's property-tax-based funding system is unconstitutional, and disparately impacts minority students who attend majority-minority districts. Theodia Gillespie, head of the Quad County Urban League, said that while Meeks' tactics don't mirror her own, they're both after the same goal.
"We all know we have to do something with school funding," she said. "Property taxes are not a good way to fund schools."
An examination of 2007 numbers compiled by the State Board of Education show a wild difference in per-student revenue among Fox Valley school districts.
The West Aurora School District, for example, brought in $56.2 million last year, which translates to $4,562 for each of its 12,307 students. West voters passed a property tax referendum last year, granting the district a 50-cent tax hike.
By contrast, the East Aurora School District brought in $28.9 million, which is only $2,318 for each of its 12,496 students. That's the lowest per-student average in the Fox Valley, a fact of which East Aurora spokesman Clayton Muhammad is very much aware. East has been leading the fight for school funding reform for years, he said.
East gets much more state funding than West -- more than $50 million in 2007, compared to West's roughly $35 million. With both that and federal aid, East actually spends more per student than West does: $8,619 per student, compared with West's $8,590 per student.
Meeks' protest centered around the difference in per-student spending between Chicago Public Schools and New Trier -- Chicago spends around $10,000 per student, while New Trier spends more than $16,000.
But the differences between the districts are remarkable: Chicago's district serves 390,000 students in 573 schools, while New Trier is a high school district with 4,150 students and only two schools.
Gillespie will tell you it's not about what the schools spend, but what they take in. And the per-student numbers are important -- the expansive Indian Prairie School District brought in $209 million in property tax revenue in 2007, while the smaller Plano School District took in only $14.3 million, but they saw a nearly equal amount of money per student.
And Mike Chapin, spokesman for the West Aurora School District, noted that once a district passes a referendum, the state cuts additional funding, leaving you back nearly where you started. West Aurora will start seeing those cuts in 2010, Chapin said, which will "negate the sacrifices local taxpayers make."
Even passing property tax referendums hasn't helped the Yorkville School District, according to Business Manager Asif Dada. The district's budget is 70 percent dependent on property taxes, and even though referendums in 2002 and 2006 both passed, the district took in $4,669 in property taxes for each of its 4,245 students in 2007 -- a number on the low side for Kendall County schools.
As a result, the district only spent $6,622 per student, the lowest average in the Fox Valley.
Dada would like to see the state's foundation level -- the minimum amount it pays out to a school district in aid money -- raised by $400 to $500. Any solution, he said, should "take the burden off property owners, because there's too much on them now."
The more affluent Geneva School District brought in the most per student in 2007 -- $9,267 -- but Superintendent Kent Mutchler noted that the district gets very little state aid. The tradeoff, he said, is that schools supported by property taxes offer more local control.
"Property taxes pay for the education in Geneva," he said. "We as a school district would value greater state aid, which would allow us to have lower property taxes."
Righting this inequity is what the Urban League's lawsuit is all about, Gillespie said. The state is near the bottom of the list when it comes to supplementing property tax income with state funds, and she would like to see a completely new system drafted and implemented, one that draws from different sources and distributes money equally.
"The question is, do we believe that education is a priority?" she said.
Local schools also feel lack of funding fairness
state, property tax contributions vary
September 3, 2008 Beacon
By ANDRE SALLES asalles@scn1.com
Can a broken school funding system be fixed?
That was a question in the forefront of many minds Tuesday, as Rev. James Meeks led a protest in Chicago, encouraging public school students to skip their first day and travel to New Trier High School in wealthy Northfield. The protest, Meeks said, was meant to highlight inequities in the school funding system, which leave poorer schools struggling.
It's a question many have asked locally as well, including officials at the Quad County Urban League, who joined with their Chicago counterparts in filing a civil rights lawsuit against the state of Illinois and the Illinois State Board of Education earlier this month.
How our local schools stack up
City of Chicago District 299
Property tax income: $4,876 per student
Expenses: $10,409 per student
East Aurora School District 131
Property tax income: $2,318 per student
Expenses: $8,619 per student
West Aurora School District 129
Property tax income: $4,562 per student
Expenses: $8,590 per student
Indian Prairie School District 204
Property tax income: $7,454 per student
Expenses: $8,639 per student
Batavia School District 101
Property tax income: $7,466 per student
Expenses: $8,386 per student
Geneva School District 304
Property tax income: $9,267 per student
Expenses: $9,807 per student
Kaneland School District 302
Property tax income: $6,238 per student
Expenses: $9,385 per student
St. Charles School District 303
Property tax income: $8,368 per student
Expenses: $9,345 per student
Oswego School District 308
Property tax income: $5,564 per student
Expenses: $8,182 per student
Yorkville School District 115
Property tax income: $4,669 per student
Expenses: $6,622 per student
Plano School District 88
Property tax income: $7,581 per student
Expenses: $7,347 per student
Hinckley-Big Rock School District 429
Property tax income: $8,044 per student
Expenses: $12,310 per student
Sandwich School District 430
Property tax income: $4,488 per student
Expenses: $7,189 per student
Somonauk School District 432
Property tax income: $5,400 per student
Expenses: $8,687 per student
The suit charges that the state's property-tax-based funding system is unconstitutional, and disparately impacts minority students who attend majority-minority districts. Theodia Gillespie, head of the Quad County Urban League, said that while Meeks' tactics don't mirror her own, they're both after the same goal.
"We all know we have to do something with school funding," she said. "Property taxes are not a good way to fund schools."
An examination of 2007 numbers compiled by the State Board of Education show a wild difference in per-student revenue among Fox Valley school districts.
The West Aurora School District, for example, brought in $56.2 million last year, which translates to $4,562 for each of its 12,307 students. West voters passed a property tax referendum last year, granting the district a 50-cent tax hike.
By contrast, the East Aurora School District brought in $28.9 million, which is only $2,318 for each of its 12,496 students. That's the lowest per-student average in the Fox Valley, a fact of which East Aurora spokesman Clayton Muhammad is very much aware. East has been leading the fight for school funding reform for years, he said.
East gets much more state funding than West -- more than $50 million in 2007, compared to West's roughly $35 million. With both that and federal aid, East actually spends more per student than West does: $8,619 per student, compared with West's $8,590 per student.
Meeks' protest centered around the difference in per-student spending between Chicago Public Schools and New Trier -- Chicago spends around $10,000 per student, while New Trier spends more than $16,000.
But the differences between the districts are remarkable: Chicago's district serves 390,000 students in 573 schools, while New Trier is a high school district with 4,150 students and only two schools.
Gillespie will tell you it's not about what the schools spend, but what they take in. And the per-student numbers are important -- the expansive Indian Prairie School District brought in $209 million in property tax revenue in 2007, while the smaller Plano School District took in only $14.3 million, but they saw a nearly equal amount of money per student.
And Mike Chapin, spokesman for the West Aurora School District, noted that once a district passes a referendum, the state cuts additional funding, leaving you back nearly where you started. West Aurora will start seeing those cuts in 2010, Chapin said, which will "negate the sacrifices local taxpayers make."
Even passing property tax referendums hasn't helped the Yorkville School District, according to Business Manager Asif Dada. The district's budget is 70 percent dependent on property taxes, and even though referendums in 2002 and 2006 both passed, the district took in $4,669 in property taxes for each of its 4,245 students in 2007 -- a number on the low side for Kendall County schools.
As a result, the district only spent $6,622 per student, the lowest average in the Fox Valley.
Dada would like to see the state's foundation level -- the minimum amount it pays out to a school district in aid money -- raised by $400 to $500. Any solution, he said, should "take the burden off property owners, because there's too much on them now."
The more affluent Geneva School District brought in the most per student in 2007 -- $9,267 -- but Superintendent Kent Mutchler noted that the district gets very little state aid. The tradeoff, he said, is that schools supported by property taxes offer more local control.
"Property taxes pay for the education in Geneva," he said. "We as a school district would value greater state aid, which would allow us to have lower property taxes."
Righting this inequity is what the Urban League's lawsuit is all about, Gillespie said. The state is near the bottom of the list when it comes to supplementing property tax income with state funds, and she would like to see a completely new system drafted and implemented, one that draws from different sources and distributes money equally.
"The question is, do we believe that education is a priority?" she said.