By Eric Stock
NORMAL – Illinois finally has a budget, but educators will be the first to tell you they still face a lot of uncertainty.
Elementary and secondary education funding remains on hold as a proposed change to the funding formula awaits Gov. Bruce Rauner’s signature. District 87 Superintendent Barry Reilly said the bill isn’t perfect but will get school funding back on track.
“I think many people in the public probably assume that the budget has passed and we are taken care of, well that’s not exactly how it is right now,” Reilly said. “It’s all tied to this evidence-based model.”
The measure is Senate Bill 1, which critics, including Rauner, have called a Chicago bailout.
“District 87 stood to gain a little bit from that, assuming that holds true with actual (figures), we’ll see that but only time will tell,” Reilly said.
Reilly added he and many Central Illinois educators back Sen. Jason Barickman’s (R-Bloomington) formula that uses 27 variables to determine how much funding each district received, but that measure did not get a vote.
District 87 is waiting on more than $2 million from the state.
Illinois State University expects to receive $65 million in the budget, about $9 million less than the state’s last budget two years ago. President Larry Dietz said it’s better than nothing, but he said it’s time for the state to re-instill confidence that it is committed to higher education.
“One year doesn’t make a commitment real, so this needs to continue to several years when we have a budget,” Dietz said.
Dietz noted he is grateful the state is restoring student MAP grants, though he said the university was prepared to cover the cost for students in the interim.
“I know we’ll be strong and stable and move forward we appreciate the fact that even though ($65 million) is a diminished figure, we at least have a figure we can plan around and move forward,” Dietz said.”
Eric Stock can be reached at eric.stock@cumulus.com.
