Tryon Points to Potential Loss in State Aid to Education

A press release from State Rep. Mike Tryon:

 Representative Mike Tryon Asks Residents to File Official Objections to SB16 through www.ilga.gov<http://www.ilga.gov/> Web Site

CRYSTAL LAKE….. State Representative Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake), concerned about a committee hearing [on Novmber 18th] that has been scheduled in Springfield to gather testimony about SB16, is asking McHenry and Kane County residents to get involved in helping him stop the bill.

Mike Tryon

Mike Tryon

“When legislators in the collar counties were holding SB16 information meetings over the last month, we were repeatedly promised by the Chief House Sponsor of SB16 that she would not be calling it for a vote anytime soon,” said Tryon.

“With a new General Assembly to be seated in less than two months, the timing of this hearing is very concerning. It suggests that the bill may be brought for a vote in the upcoming lame duck session.”

The bill has been scheduled for a 3:00 PM subject matter hearing before a joint meeting of the Appropriations- Elementary & Secondary Education Committee and the House Elementary & Secondary Education Committee. SB16 Chief House Sponsor Linda Chapa La Via (D-Aurora) is the chairperson of the House Elementary & Secondary Education Committee. “It appears the Appropriations- Elementary & Secondary Education Committee is taking the lead in the hearing,” said Tryon. “Representative Will Davis (D-East Hazel Crest) is the chair of that committee.”

The school districts located within Tryon’s 66th Legislative District all stand to lose significant amounts of General State Aid (GSA) funding through SB16 as written. “Crystal Lake, Huntley and District 300 schools stand to lose a combined $12.1 million per year in GSA if this law is passed and signed into law,” said Tryon. “This would be a game-changer for how kids in this area are educated. We need to kill this bill, and take the necessary time and effort to create equitable and fair reforms that allow all students to succeed. This reallocation of funds is punitive to suburban districts and I will do everything in my power to stop it.”

Tryon is asking residents to go to the www.ilga<http://www.ilga/> web site and fill out a witness slip stating their opposition to SB16. The directions are as follows:

1.      Go to www.ilga.gov<http://www.ilga.gov/>

2.      Scroll down the page and click on GA Dashboard (in red ink along the left side of the page)

3.      Click on the Register icon and fill in your information (registration is recommended but not required)

4.      Click on House, Committee Hearings, and then on the “Month” tab

5.      Click on the piece of paper icon to the right of the listed hearing (November 18th, Appropriations- Elementary & Secondary Education)

6.      Click on Create witness slip

7.      Fill out the form

8.      In the “subject matter” portion click “opponent”

9.      Under “Testimony” you can have your written comments supplied to all board members. This is optional. Emailed testimony is not accepted. You may fax your written statement to 217-557-2165 or you may mail it to Illinois State House, Room 426, 401 S. Second Street, Springfield, IL  62706. Make sure that your written testimony is clearly marked at the top of the page: SB16 Testimony, and your name.

10.  Fill in verification code

11.  Click the box to accept the terms

12.  Click Submit

A “Frequently Asked Questions” document is available for those who have additional questions about the process. That document is available at:http://my.ilga.gov/Home/FAQ .

“We all need to work together to preserve the education funding that our suburban school districts receive,” Tryon said. “We need to flood the committee with notes of opposition and let the committee members know in no uncertain terms that the ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ approach to GSA funding is unacceptable, unfair and inequitable.”

= = = = =
I asked for the impact of HB 16 on school districts that Tryon represents.

Here is the answer:

  • Elementary District 47: Loss of $5.8 million in General State Aid
  • Crystal Lake High School District 155: Loss of $1.4 million in GSA
  • Huntley Consolidated School District 158: Loss of $2.1 million in GSA
  • Carpentersville-based School District 300: Loss of $2.7 million in GSA

All but District 300 was able to provide the loss in percentage terms:

  • Crystal Lake High School District 155: 17.2% loss in GSA ($1.45 million reduction)
  • Huntley School District 158: 11.2% loss in GSA ($2.1 million reduction)
  • Crystal Lake Elementary School District 47: 72.6% loss in GSA ($5.67 million reduction)

Comments

Tryon Points to Potential Loss in State Aid to Education — 7 Comments

  1. The chief house sponsor of Senate Bill 16 is State Representative Linda Chapa LaVia, a Democrat from Aurora.

    Wonder why hardly any taxpayer understands how money is spent in education?

    You can start with the proposed bill, known as the School Funding Reform Act of 2014.

    Have fun wading through the 421 page Adobe pdf file.

    Here is probably the key portion of the document to get started.

    (105 ILCS 5/18-8.15 new)

    Page 296 – 335 of the 421 page document.
    http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/98/HB/PDF/09800HB3796lv.pdf

    This reallocation of General State Aid has been in the works for years spearheaded by groups such as Advance Illinois which believes that students in districts with lower property values are getting the shaft under the current funding formula.

    Notice some of the terms in the funding document.

    “Advanced Standing Pupil”

    “Career Pathway Completer”

    “Advanced Standing Pupil” means a pupil in grades 9 through 12, other than a pupil counted as a Career Pathway Completer, that has completed

    (i) one or more Advanced Placement courses and received a score of 3 or higher on an Advanced Placement examination or

    (ii) a course providing dual credit through an Illinois public community college or university in which the student was awarded at least 3 credit hours of postsecondary education credit.

    (I) In the 2016-2017 school year and subsequent school years, Advanced Standing Pupils and Career Pathway

    Completers:

    (i) For Advanced Standing Pupils:

    (I) Weighting Factor of 0.02; and

    (II) Weighting Percentage equal to the Prior Year ADA of Advanced Standing Pupils, divided by the Prior Year ADA for all pupils.

    (ii) For Career Pathway Completers:

    (I) Weighting Factor of 0.03; and

    (II) Weighting Percentage equal to the Prior Year ADA of Career Pathway Completers, divided by the Prior Year ADA for all pupils.

    Has anyone bothered explaining to the average parent of the average student in the average subdivision what that means.

  2. Here’s more on the Career Pathway Completer from the same SB 16.

    “Career Pathway Completer” means a pupil that has graduated from high school and completed a series of connected education and training strategies and support services meeting the requirements of this definition and other requirements established by the State Board of Education that enable individuals

    to secure industry-relevant credentials and degrees and obtain employment within an occupational area and
    to advance to higher levels of future education and employment in that area.

    Career pathway programs must incorporate

    (i)rigorous academics that prepare students for success in community colleges and universities, as well as in apprenticeship and other postsecondary programs;

    (ii) career-based learning through a cluster of 3 or more courses emphasizing the practical application of academic learning and
    preparing students for employment in high skill occupational areas;

    (iii) professional learning, via job shadowing, apprenticeships, internships, or other professional
    skill-building opportunities;

    (iv) support services that include academic and career counseling; and

    (v) opportunities for attainment of stackable, industry-relevant credentials and degrees.

  3. What the school districts that are losing revenue are not telling you, is the percentage of their overall revenues that they are losing.
    T
    hey get revenues from many sources.

    Federal.

    State (mostly in the form of General State Aid aka GSA).

    Property Taxes.

    PTA.

    etc.

    Since most of the school district revenue comes from property taxes in suburbs such as Crystal Lake, Huntley, Carpentersville, etc., the percentage of total revenue that would be loss is much less than the percentage of General State Aid they would lose.

    See how the above school districts are concerned that they will be losing revenue if SB16 passes as currently proposed?

    How concerned have they been about the impact to taxpayers as the result of hiking salaries the last 15 years?

    How hard have they been lobbying Springfield to reign in state legislative pension benefit hikes in the last 44 years?

    How hard have they been lobbying Springfield the last 44 years to reign in retiree healthcare increases.

    The average person has no clue how salary an benefits have been hiked in the local school districts and the local school district is the last place which will explain that to you.

    Often Administrators have the wool pulled over school board members eyes.

    Your average school board member is much less informed than administrators on school finance.

    They rely on the same administrators who personally benefit from pay and benefit hikes.

    Since administrators make more than teachers, the more teachers make, the more administrators make too.

    So while on one hand it’s nice to have more money for education, and the suburbs want their fair share of state school money compared to Chicago in particular, on the other hand it’s a big money
    grab in the monopoly school districts.

  4. And the voters in the 63rd returned a Democrat to Springfield. And the voters returned Durbin to D.C. And the voters PASSED every Democrat question AND Constitutional amendment on the ballot. Gruber stated it accurately: “Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. And basically, call it the ‘stupidity of the American voter’ or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical to getting the thing to pass,”

  5. D300 is getting completely screwed by the state. First that ridiculous Sears deal and now this. Got to love living in the State of Chicago!

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