Network 21 launches statewide school reform campaign ...



[pic] Toolkit for Local Action

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: What's wrong with our public schools?

A: Simply put, too many schools do not have the resources they need to provide a quality education. Not all students are learning as well as they could, which is directly related to public investment in education. Less than one-third of high poverty public schools (where more than 50 percent of students come from low-income families) are able to meet grade-level Illinois learning standards. That affects approximately 400,000 children, who are sentenced to diminished opportunities. Also, Illinois ranks 48th out of 50 states in the amount of money the state contributes for public schools. All of these factors earned Illinois an 'F' in equity in Education Week's "Quality Counts" 2002 report card.

Q: What’s wrong with the funding situation?

A: Illinois cut its state education budget last year by $176 million—an unprecedented setback that squeezed school districts already dealing with budget deficits. There are 112 school districts on the Illinois State Board of Education’s financial watch list. Local tax caps in many areas also put a ceiling on the local revenues that can be generated for schools. Plus, much of new money to schools in recent years has not filtered down to the classroom. From 1999 to 2001, only $82 million of $721 million in new state dollars were devoted to basic classroom education.

Q: How are schools currently funded?

A: Schools in Illinois are primarily funded through local property taxes. Unfortunately, this creates sharp disparities in the level of resources devoted to education from one community to the next. School districts range in the amount of per-person “tax base” available to support each student from a low of around $8,000 to well over $1.5 million. Clearly, the student in the former district is not getting the same education as the one in the latter. The state guarantees a minimum amount of funding per student when a school district is not able to generate enough funds locally — known as the foundation level — but this amount is $1,100 short of what's required to provide a basic, quality education for a child.

It does not have to be that way. Increasing the state share of education funding while reducing the reliance on the property tax would help to break the link between where a child lives and the quality of the education he or she receives.

Q: What happened to the lottery money?

A: All lottery proceeds are used to support public education, but the lottery is not a large source of funding for public schools and was never meant to be. Illinois Lottery proceeds represent about seven percent of the state’s contributions to public education.

Q: Why is education funding so closely related to property taxes? Why is that bad?

A: Illinois schools receive most of their money from local property taxes. Unfortunately, many communities do not have the property wealth to adequately fund their schools. The state is supposed to make up the difference for those communities, but does not meet its responsibility. With the state share of education funding actually shrinking, and tax caps limiting revenues from property taxes in many areas, schools are getting squeezed. Meanwhile, high property taxes are making housing less affordable, particularly for elderly households and young families. Companies are less likely to want to locate new businesses in communities with high property taxes, further eroding poor communities’ chances for new revenues to fund schools and other services, fueling wasteful sprawl. All this points to the need to reduce reliance on property taxes to fund education in Illinois. Past education reform commissions have recommended that the property taxes spent on schools be reduced at least 25 percent and replaced by new state dollars.

Q: Why should I care?

A: Public education affects everyone, no matter what city they live in or whether or not they have children in public schools. Every child deserves an adequate education, and the quality of that education should not be a function of the wealth of the community. Poor results from our education system are also a threat to Illinois’ future economic growth: a generation of children not meeting learning standards today will not enter the workforce with the skills they need tomorrow.

Q: What can I do about it?

A: Contact your representatives in Springfield. In state politics, one voice really does make a difference. Join the Network 21 coalition and add your name to the growing list supporting practical education reforms in Illinois. And influence those around you. Refer to Network 21’s Toolkit for Local Action: HOW TO GET STARTED for a guide, or visit work- for more suggestions.

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