As the year comes to an end, I want to say thank you for your support. Our students have accomplished so much this year. Thank you for everything you have done inside our schools and at home to help them achieve their greatest potential.
I also want to let you know I sent the letter below to our state legislators today. You have probably heard in the news that Illinois is facing major budget challenges and has not approved a budget for next year. That leaves school districts not knowing how much state funding we will receive to support our students.
One option being discussed for school funding is Senate Bill 231. We oppose Senate Bill 231 because it requires passing a separate $241 million adequacy grant in order for our district to not lose funding. If the adequacy grant is not made, District 204 would suffer the second largest loss — $9.8 million — of any school district in Illinois. Considering the state’s budget crisis, it is too risky for our legislators to support a school funding bill that has strings attached.
You can lend your support on this issue by sharing your views on Senate Bill 231 with your legislator this week. The bill already passed in the Senate and may be called for a vote in the House. Please ask your representative to oppose Senate Bill 231 and encourage them to continue working to find a budget proposal that ensures all school districts receive at least the same level of funding as this year.
Thank you for your continued support.
Karen Sullivan
Superintendent
District 204 is served by the following Representatives
State Representative – District 41, Grant Wehrli, (41districtdirector@gmail.com, 630-696-4160)
State Representative – District 84, Stephanie Kifowit,  (stephanie.kifowit@att.net, 630-585-1308)
State Representative – District 49, Mike Fortner (mike.fortner@sbcglobal.net, 630-293-9344)
State Representative – District 98, Natalie Manley (repmanley@gmail.com, 815-725-2741)
State Representative – District 97, Mark Batinick (batinick@ilhousegop.org, 815-254-0000)
Superintendent’s Letter to Legislators
May 23, 2016
Dear Representatives Wehrli, Kifowit, Batinick, Manley and Fortner,
I am writing you today to share Indian Prairie District 204’s opposition to Senate Bill 231 which was recently passed in the Senate. We clearly agree that the school funding formula needs to be changed and we appreciate Senator Manar’s perseverance in keeping this topic alive. However, we do not agree that SB 231 is the right fix. This bill, like his previous versions SB 16 and SB 1, represents a redistribution of current funds. This is not true funding reform.
A major concern for us is that the bill requires several separate appropriations by the General Assembly. While Indian Prairie appears to come out even under the bill, if the adequacy grant appropriation is not made, the district would be the state’s second largest loser of funds at a loss of $9.8 million dollars. Given the state’s tenuous fiscal health, we have significant concerns about seeing an additional appropriation of over $241 million being made. Indian Prairie is a foundation level district that spends less dollars per student as the state average and our community shoulders significant tax effort for its schools. A reduction in state funds of that magnitude would be devastating after years of significant budget cuts due to decreased state funding.
We urge you to work with your colleagues on an FY 17 budget proposal that would ensure that all districts receive at least the same level of funding as FY 16. Any additional funding that becomes available could be distributed to those districts in the most need. We would encourage the General Assembly to use FY 17 to have substantive bipartisan conversations on true school funding reform such as the evidence based model.
Please feel free to contact me if I can answer any of your questions about our position. We appreciate your support for education.
Sincerely,
Karen Sullivan, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Cc: Board of Education Members
Senator Connelly
Senator Holmes
Senator Oberweis
Senator Bertino-Tarrant
IPSD 204 Community
For more information about School District 204, visit www.ipsd.org/
