The following letter was released to Indian Prairie Unit School District 204 on Fri., April 10, 2015, from Superintendent Karen Sullivan:
Dear District 204 Community,
The School Funding Reform Act of 2015, also known as Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), is a reintroduced version of last year’s Senate Bill 16 (SB 16), a proposal to replace Illinois’ dated formula to fund education. SB 16 did not increase the level of education funding, but changed the way in which limited state funding would be distributed to school districts. Under SB 16, District 204’s budget would have been reduced by $10.1 million. The bill passed the senate, but was never called for a vote in the house.
SB 1 has evolved based on discussions with more than 400 superintendents and statewide town halls involving parents and educators.
Unfortunately, District 204 will still lose state funding under the revised proposal. As written, SB 1 would mean District 204 will lose $1.9 million in state funding. That number will likely be much higher if the state can’t fund the bill’s adequacy grant meant to offset losses in districts that are fiscally responsible. If adequacy grant funds are not approved, District 204 will lose a total of $5.8 million in state funding.
While we appreciate legislators’ time in continuing to examine education funding in Illinois, we can’t support any bill that would represent a financial loss for our district. SB 1 still does not address the issue of adequate and equitable funding for education in our state.
SB 1 is currently in committee review and does not have a timeline for being called for a vote. We will continue to monitor this bill and keep you updated on its progress.
Sincerely,
Karen Sullivan
Superintendent
