The League supports a system of high quality
elementary and secondary schools for all children in Illinois,
which provides for local control of school program and budget within
minimum program requirements set by the State. The State should
provide leadership to local communities for program development
and should set standards for recognition and accreditation of schools.
The effectiveness of educational programs should
be evaluated regularly. The League favors minimum standards for
graduation and promotion of students.
The League supports increased professionalism for teachers
including stringent teacher preparation standards, comprehensive
teacher and principal evaluations, changes in tenure and increased
teacher compensation.
League believes that charters should be established by local
school boards and that the Illinois State Board of Education
should continue to monitor the progress of existing charter schools
before supporting further expansion.
School Funding
The State should assume the major responsibility for funding
public schools and guarantee an adequate level of financial support.
Fiscal policy and school funding issues are closely connected because education is a large part of the State
budget. Other League positions are also affected because the State has insufficient revenues to provide for many
of the needs that the League has identified.
Fiscal problems that the public schools face are serious, widespread and chronic. The "new" money that schools
received in the past two fiscal years has allowed schools to keep up with inflation, but was not sufficient to
allow the schools to make needed changes.
Many districts have been forced to make cuts in program and increase class sizes. Special
education is funded by the state at the same level it has been at for over thirty years. Many districts make do
with old and out of date schoolbooks.
The amount paid into the state aid formula continues to be about $1000 less per pupil than the amount
recommended by the Education Funding Advisory Board (EFAB). The range of spending per pupil varies
from less than $5000 to more than $18,000. So the quality of education received continues to vary,
depending on where students live.
Legislation has been proposed to address this problem. It seeks
to increase the income tax, reduce the property tax, and
broaden the sales tax to include services. This legislation
faces a rocky road to passage because Governor Blagojevich has promised
to veto any legislation that contains new taxes. The League will
continue to work to obtain adequate funding for schools.
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