By PJ Baron
BLOOMINGTON – For the second year in a row, Illinois has failed to meet the deadline to draft a budget for the state, and it will be felt throughout the state.
Public schools will be among thost most affected by the lack of a budget. District 87 Superintendent Barry Reilly explained that at the schools will experience cuts in order to stay afloat.
“If you want to continue to have the programs and things the way that they are, obviously there has to be funding coming from somewhere. Short of that, you’re going to start seeing districts make massive amounts of cuts,” said Reilly.
Reilly also expressed how the schools in District 87 will remain open in the fall, even if the state doesn’t have a budget plan by the time classes begin.
“In District 87, while we get a significant amount of money from the state, the vast majority of our funding comes from local resources and those local resources will continue to come in. We’ll certainly keep moving forward and do all that we can to advocate for getting a budget done,” said Reilly.
Reilly remained confident that lawmakers will solve the budget crisis, even if it requires a bigger push from the public.
PJ Baron can be reached at news@wjbc.com.
