School Funding Picture Unclear As First State Payment Date Approaches

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Published on July 26 2017 9:36 am
Last Updated on July 26 2017 9:36 am

BY JIM TAYLOR

The next key date for school districts in Illinois is Aug. 10. That’s when they’re supposed to receive their first state aid payments for the new school year.

Many small schools with limited resources are fearful that first payment could be delayed.

“We have a number of school districts where they may have enough cash reserves to open, and some can go the whole year,” said Jak Tichenor, interim director at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University. “But other school districts, where the property tax base is not so good, they’ve already depleted a lot of their reserves.”

Small, rural school districts are more reliant on state aid payments and need that money to open or stay open.

Even though a state budget has been approved, education funding has not been released because it’s contingent on a new structure still being finalized in Springfield.

Efforts are focused on SB1, which has been approved by the House and the Senate. Gov. Bruce Rauner is waiting to veto the bill once it gets to his desk.

An alternative option is contained in SB 1124 which has been introduced but not yet voted on.

Under the new funding proposals, all schools receive more money; the differences come down to distribution of the funds and how much of the increase each district receives.

“You have to remember there’s still a large block of the legislature in the city of Chicago that is dominated by the Democrats,” Tichenor said. “There’s only one House Republican in the entire city of Chicago, so that’s an issue near and dear to the majority Democrats.”