Funding Board Recommends Increasing State Aid, Providing More Poverty Grants to Schools

Springfield -- The State should increase General State Aid to school districts, provide poverty grants to more schools, give additional flexibility to districts with declining enrollment and increase funding for early childhood education, according to the Education Funding Advisory Board (EFAB).

“These recommendations build upon the momentum of the last three years,” said Robert Leininger, chairman of the EFAB and a former State Superintendent of Education.  “They will provide substantial help to schools as we look for long-term solutions to the school funding dilemma.” 

“While significant, these recommendations are just the beginning of our efforts to address school funding improvements,” Leininger said. “In subsequent years, we intend to make several recommendations that will bring significant changes to the way the state funds schools.”

Governor George H. Ryan appointed members of the EFAB in June.  In addition to Leininger, the voting members include Dr. Marleis Trover, Superintendent of the Vienna High School District, Anne Davis of Harvey, President of the Illinois Education Association; Bert Docter of South Holland, CEO of Docter Enterprises; and Dean Clark of Glen Ellyn, President of Graphic Chemical and Ink Co.  The Governor also appointed 13 ex-officio non-voting members, including the Deputy Governor for Education, legislators, a former state budget director, and representatives of business, and public and private schools, to serve with the Board.

Recommendations of the EFAB include the following:

• Increase of no less than $135 million in FY2002 for General State Aid and Hold Harmless. This would yield a foundation level of no less than $4,560 (presently $4,425).  The Board’s report states a preference for a GSA foundation level increase that matches the Consumer Price Index but members opted for the language of “no less than $135 million.”    

• Decrease the minimum threshold for access to the poverty grant from the present 20% to 15%

The Board also recommended that the poverty grant be a percentage of the foundation level, rather than a fixed dollar amount as it is currently.  While the Board explores alternate measures to find one that is more timely and accurate, the report recommends that the 1990 census count continue to be used to determine the number of students from low-income families.  The Board hopes to have a recommendation for a substitute count in its next report.

• Authorize the pupil count in the formula to be the greater of the prior year average daily attendance or the most recent three-year average daily attendance.  Currently the pupil count must be the prior year’s ADA, calculated as the average of the best three months of that year.  The report said the change would mitigate decreasing General State Aid caused by declining enrollments being experienced by many districts.

• Continue the General State Aid Hold Harmless through FY2002.  The hold harmless provision ensures that no district receives less GSA than it did in 1997-98.  The Board believes it should not be permanent, and the report says that further recommendations will be forthcoming.

• Reenact the continuing appropriation for General State Aid with no sunset provision; for the hold harmless, the continuing appropriation should go through FY2002.  The continuing appropriation guarantees funding at the promised level even if the General Assembly does not specifically appropriate it that year.  It allows districts to plan their budgets with the confidence that state funds will be available.

• Provide additional funds through the Early Childhood Block Grant, as requested by the Governor and the State Superintendent of Education. 

      The Board held three public hearings around the state to gather comments and suggestions for funding improvements.

In addition, the board heard from an independent group, Network 21, regarding preliminary results on similar projects.  Short-term recommendations were also forwarded to the Board by Dr. Richard Wiggall of Illinois State University’s Center for the Study of School Finance, the successful bidder on an RFP (Request for Proposals) issued in October.

The Board will get recommendations for longer-term changes in school finance from the successful bidder for Part II of the RFP, Augenblick and Myers of Denver, Colorado.  That study is scheduled to be completed by June 11, 2001.

Using findings from that study as the basis for future recommendations on foundation levels and poverty grant funding, the Board anticipates issuing an interim report in the fall of 2001, with recommendations for FY2003.

Future issues to be addressed by the Board, according to the report, include but are not limited to categorical funding, technology, budgetary flexibility, property assessment, reliance on the property tax to fund elementary and secondary education and the state’s share of education funding. 

The report concluded that the FY2002 recommendations, “while not solving the funding problems of all school district in Illinois, will provide significant increases in General State Aid funding and begin to move districts away from reliance on hold harmless funding.”