SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — For the past six years, the state has largely upheld an agreement to pay K-12 $350 million each year.
But advocates say the state should consider increasing annual contributions to help schools reach full funding faster.
“The goal is 350, certainly no less,” said Robin Stones, president of Advance Illinois. “But if we can do more, we should certainly continue to strive and do more so that we can reach our goals faster and make up for last year taking into account inflation.”
The $350 million threshold was set in 2017. The evidence-based funding model takes that money and sends it to school districts. This model calculates how much a school district needs to be “fully” funded. The farther a school district moves from full funding, the more funding it will receive from the state.
After a global pandemic and record inflation, the value of the dollar has changed, and it will likely take longer to fully fund all of Illinois' schools with current endowments.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in an ideal world the state could make more investments, but noted that other education investments the state has made and other budget pressures are at play.
“It would be great to put more money into it because I believe we need to get to our end goal of fully funding our schools faster,” Pritzker said. . “But we also always balance the needs of other parts of the budget.”
Springfield Superintendent Jennifer Gill said a larger donation could go a long way to supporting schools, but she appreciates the state's consistency.
“We” are always grateful for what we have. I'm glad the funding changed a few years ago and now I have a stable amount of money. Increase is always good. School purchases escalated and became more expensive,” Gill said.
Advance Illinois wants the state to commit $550 million to K-12 funding.
“I appreciate the fact that people are taking the new 550 million a year figure very seriously. I hear people discussing it, but it is very It’s a top priority,” Stevens said.
The Governor's budget proposal this year included additional funding for early childhood education and the Governor's Smart Start preschool program. Although the proposal did not significantly increase the higher education budget, the governor also continued to increase funding for MAP grants in the state.
