During his budget address yesterday, Governor Bruce Rauner pledged to fully-fund state aid to public schools. Today, a state senator is questioning the governor's math.
Illinois' public schools receive state aid through a complicated formula. It’s meant to ensure that every school can spend at least 6 thousand dollars per student every year. But for the past few years, state government hasn’t met that obligation.
Rauner said for the first time in 7 years, he wants to fund 100 percent of the state aid formula.
But State Senator Andy Manar, a Democrat from Macoupin County who’s advocating a rewrite of the formula, says the governor's written proposal doesn't match that pledge.
Manar says the state board of education recently estimated it would cost an extra 312 million to fully fund the formula. The governor’s only committing only an extra 55 million.
"There's a big difference between 50 million and 312 million, according to my math, and we need a full explanation for that."
Rauner also wants to increase funding for early childhood education.
