A press release from State Rep. Steve Reick:

Reick to Serve on New Education Funding Task Force

SPRINGFIELD….. State Representative Steve Reick (R-Woodstock) has been selected to serve on the 100th General Assembly House Education Task Force.

Reick, vocal proponent of changing the education funding formula in a way that maximizes students’ opportunities for success while easing the current over-reliance on property taxes, will serve alongside 12 other House Republicans and 13 House Democrats.

The task force will be led by Democrat Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) and State Representative Bob Pritchard (R-Hinckley).

The House Educational Task Force

As a bipartisan group, the lawmakers will review the findings of Governor Rauner’s 2016 bipartisan, bicameral Illinois School Funding Reform Commission, and work toward a legislative solution to provide, once and for all, a revamped funding formula that provides a more equitable and adequately funded system for educating all students.

“It is important to me that this new group pick up where the Governor’s commission left off and not re-hash issues that have been discussed over and over again before previous education funding task forces,” said Reick. “Our goal is to move forward; to use the results of the Governor’s commission as our starting point with an ultimate goal of bringing forward a legislative solution this session year.”

The task force held its first meeting this morning, where they heard from two panels of experts. The group will continue to meet throughout the spring session. “Reducing School District reliance on property taxes was a key take-away from the Governor’s commission report, and any ultimate change to the formula must include that component,” Reick said.