By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – No Child Left Behind could soon become the Every Student Succeeds Act.

District 87 Superintendent Barry Reilly tells WJBC’s Scott Laughlin it appears the educational measure which Congress is rewriting doesn’t provide for more funding for schools, but he says hopefully more cash flexibility so schools can spend it where they need it, and reduce the gap between the richer and poorer schools.

PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Colleen’s interview with Reilly on WJBC.

“We’ll be able to allocate those dollars directly to kids it looks like,” Reilly said. “We have a major discrepancy in the way schools are funded across the state.”

Reilly noted the range of state aid for school districts in Illinois is between $30,0000 per student and $6,000 per student.

“That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Reilly declared.

But Reilly said standardized tests such as PARCC would stay.

“We expect that is going to remain the same, in fact that is in the act that is up for both chambers will vote on,” Reilly said.

The new act is intended to provide new accountability standards, giving states authority to intervene when schools are underperforming or have become “dropout factories.”

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].