A message from State Senator Karen McConnaughay:
Karen McConnaughay
The Illinois School Funding Commission met for the third timeon Wednesday.
As a member of the Commission, I was particularly interested in this week’s discussion on equity and how increasing equitability in school funding will translate into greater academic achievement and increased opportunities for Illinois students.
So what is the difference between equal funding and equitable funding?
Equal funding does not translate into equitable funding, which accounts for the needs of all students and provides them with the resources they need to achieve.
As we all know, Illinois is a highly diverse state.
Every day teachers and administrators throughout Illinois navigate the challenges that come with teaching low-income students,
English learners and students with special needs.
These students require greater resources in order to bridge learning gaps and improve outcomes.
Increasing equity in school funding is one of the greatest challenges facing the Commission, but also one of the most critical. As we move forward, I believe an important step to understand equity at the district level will be to track results student by student.
Also this week, on Thursday, I was honored to be the featured speaker at Fox Valley WIM’s monthly luncheon.
I presented my “State of the State” legislative update and discussed issues and opportunities for women in management roles. It was such a privilege to spend the afternoon with this inspiring group of women.
Finally, I’d like to encourage you to join me and Chuck Sass, Mayor of Huntley, for coffee and conversation on September 13, from 9:00 – 10:00 am at Morkes Chocolate located at 11801 Main Street in Huntley, Illinois.
As always, if you would like more information or to contact me, please visit my legislative website.
Best,
Karen McConnaughay
State Senator for the 33rd District
Join local leaders for coffee and conversation! |
What is equitable for public schools in Illinois is to claw back the legislation that has created an unequitable system that is centered around pay and benefits for those delivering the system and the politicians that passed the laws.
Current inequities:
1. Mandated fees to union as a condition of employment.
Right to work states do not require the employee to pay mandatory fees to a union as a condition of employment.
In right to work states, the worker gets a choice whether or not they want to pay any fees to a union.
2. Pension hikes.
3. Pay hikes.
4. Retiree healthcare hikes.
5. Current benefit hikes.
6. No change documents for collective bargaining agreements.
Change documents indicate changes from the previous agreement to the current agreement.
For example, underline text for additions, and stricken text for deletions; which is the process used in the Illinois General Assembly when changing a law.
7. Taxpayers are not allowed to vote on collective bargaining agreements (but rank and file union members do get to vote on the agreement).
Taxpayers are not allowed to vote on administrator contracts.
8. Bond referendums do not include estimated annual principal and interest payment schedule from inception through retirement.
9. Mandated prevailing wages (see Governor Bruce Rauner administration’s turnaround agenda for proposed locally approved zones).
10. Taxpayers in Cairo pay pensions for Superintendents on Lake Forest.
Meaning, the state contribution to the pension plan is paid by state taxpayers (income taxes, etc.) statewide.
This has resulted in artificially high local suburban salaries, since salary hikes result in pension hikes.
The school district is not responsible for most of the pension annual funding.
The school district is not responsible for any pension underfunding.
The state is responsible for most of the annual pension funding, and the unfnded pension liability.
The damage has already been done.
No easy way to fix the damage that has been done.
It is a travesty that pension benefits could be hiked while pensions were underfunded.
The unfunded liability has been created by self serving politicians, unions, and other self serving or clueless special interest groups, in the name of educating children.
11. Searchable board agenda packets that allow copy and paste are not required to be posted on the school district website at least 48 hours to the board meeting.
Such a packet contains documents to be discussed at the meeting.
Some school district administrators and certain board members purposefully do not provide board agenda packets prior to the meeting (many do no provide them after the meeting either) because it allows them to more easily achieve their agenda.
Or they play games such as not allowing the find feature to be used to search on keywords in the document.
Another game is not allowing copy and paste, which prevents the taxpayer from consolidating information.
12. Searchable audited annual financial reports that allow copy and paste.
13. The parent should be allowed to choose where to send their child to school, and any government money would be sent to that school.
The current no choice system has resulted in not enough competition between school districts to reign in costs or increase performance.
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There is much more.
But the above provides some examples of how the game is rigged against the taxpayers.
There is going to be a lot of pain in unravelling the mess that has been created.
The less any one person is involved in solving the mess, the less likely the settlement will be to their advantage.
Right now organized labor in particular has a huge organizational advantage over unorganized taxpayers.
But labor unions are just one piece to the puzzle.