State News

Education Desk: Gov Reveals Hard Numbers For His K-12 Funding Plan

NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | By Dusty Rhodes

Published April 12, 2016 at 8:36 PM CDT

Gov. Bruce Rauner has been vocal in his efforts to defeat legislation that would let an arbitrator resolve labor negotiations that have reached an impasse.

Lawmakers got a look at Gov. Bruce Rauner's school funding proposal today.

As promised, the governor's plan gives every district the full amount of state aid due under the current school funding formula. But that formula, which relies heavily on property taxes, has been called the most inequitable plan in the nation.

Hear the story here.So despite the fact thatRauner’sproposal adds money to the pot, some of the neediest districts will lose funds, while some of the wealthiest will get more.

State Rep. Christian Mitchell, a Chicago Democrat, says Rauner's plan is like Robin Hood in reverse.

"You've got a proposal where Chicago Public Schools is losing $75 million, where Harvey's losing money, where Taylorville's losing money, where Cahokia and East St. Louis are losing money, but New Trier and Lake Forest are gaining money," Mitchell says. "My guess would be this particular proposal is dead on arrival. He's literally robbing from the poor to give more money to those that already have money."

Democrats have proposed a complete overhaul of the state's school funding formula, but numbers on what that plan would mean for individual districts aren’t out yet. Thegovernor has said there isn’t time for an overhaul right now.