In the midst of the ninth month of budget stalemate, Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed a slight increase in funds for public schools. But state school officials say it won’t help the neediest districts.
Some Illinois districts spend just above six-thousand dollars per student in a school year, while other districts spend more than five times that amount. The difference is due to the disparity in property values across the state, because schools rely on property taxes for funding.
Legislative efforts to channel more state aid to districts with low property values have failed, because wealthier districts complain about losing state funds.
Tony Smith, the state superintendent of schools, told legislators that Rauner’s proposed funding increase will still result in winners and losers.
“We have underfunded public schools, and have a fundamentally inequitable funding system," Smith said. "So the system of funding has produced deeply inequitable situations where districts are losing all the time.”
Rauner appointed Smith to this post less than a year ago.
