McConchie Says Dem State Aid Formula a Chicago School Bailout

A press release from State Senator Don McConchie:

McConchie comments on ISBE numbers for flawed school funding plan

Springfield, IL- State Sen. Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) released the following statement on a proposed school funding formula that advances devastating cuts for suburban schools:

McConchie looking right smiling Alg“The data released today by the Illinois State Board of Education reflects what suburban schools have feared. Senator Andy Manar’s current plan bails out Chicago Public Schools at the expense of collar county schools, which would lose more than $121 million. This would be a devastating blow to suburban school districts.

“It is possible that the legislation will be tweaked. However, a proposed amendment to the measure would merely soften the blow for suburban districts.

“We all agree the current school funding formula is broken and needs to be fixed; however, SB 231 is not the answer to the problem.

“In the meantime, we can offer school districts certainty through full funding of General State Aid. Gov. Rauner and legislative Republicans have a proposal to do this on the table that is fully funded with existing state revenues.

“Most importantly, no schools should be held hostage while a new formula is debated.

“It’s imperative schools are able to open on time in the fall.”


Comments

McConchie Says Dem State Aid Formula a Chicago School Bailout — 5 Comments

  1. Has anyone calculated cps taxable property value including exempted til district property valuations?

    The formula of state fund distribution would be very different.

  2. School funding is a mess because taxpayers have no control over costs.

    Pension and retiree healthcare benefits have repeatedly been hiked after the pension sentence was added to the Illinois State Constitution on December 15, 1970.

    The sentence allows unlimited salary hikes (which obviously hikes the pension), and unlimited pension benefit hikes, and unlimited retiree healthcare benefit hikes.

    The sentence allows unlimited non funded or underfunded pension benefit hikes.

    The sentence allows unlimited non funded or underfunded retiree healthcare benefit hikes.

    The sentence allows unlimited non funded or underfunded pension benefit hikes, to pensions that are already underfunded.

    The sentence allows unlimited non funded or underfunded retiree healthcare benefit hikes, to retiree healthcare that is already underfunded.

    The taxpayers are not allowed to vote on collective bargaining agreements or administrator contracts, even though the union is allowed to vote on collective bargaining agreements.

    The taxpayers are not allowed to view collective bargaining agreements until not only after the board approves the agreement, but also after the agreement has been “finalized”, a process which often takes 2 – 3 months in suburban school districts.

    The pension sentence should be repealed in its entirety via constitutional amendment so benefit hikes can be scaled back to something acceptable to taxpayers.

    Collective bargaining agreements should be subject to taxpayer review and taxpayer approval.

    Administrator contracts should be subject to taxpayer review and taxpayer approval.

    The document available to taxpayers for review and approval should be the change document which indicates clearly the changes to the agreement, such as underline text for additions and strikethrough text for deletions.

    The current process is broke and out of control for the above reasons, and there are no serious efforts to fix it.

    Fixing the funding formula is useless and actually harmful (will just lead to more tax hikes) unless the process is changed.

    The rules of the game are rigged against the taxpayer.

  3. The proposed bill levels the playing field.

    Why are suburban schools so good?

    Because they get a disproportionate share of tax dollars.

  4. The focus overall is not on individual student achievement throughout the child’s academic career; rather it’s on salaries, stipends, bonuses, retirement enhancements, current benefits, pensions, retiree healthcare, local politics, state politics, Federal politics, tax referendums, bond referendums, monopoly school district with monopoly labor unions with monopoly agency fees (mandatory condition of employment fees), parents hiring tutors, etc.

    Sure some kids get a good education and some teachers care.

    But the caring teachers get paid the same as the non caring teachers because pay is based on collective bargaining agreement which says a gym teacher is paid the same as a chemistry teacher, and the way to get a pay hike is to work an other year (step vertical movement on salary grid) and take college classes (lane horizontal movement on salary grid).

    The cost to educate a kid in Illinois is lowballed, it doesn’t include the annual state contribution to the teacher pension fund.

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