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News Clips –
STATE Illinois
governor clashes with his own party / CNN.com STATE Legislature is stalemated
/ Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has angered some fellow Democrats. AP, But now, just 18 months
later, Blagojevich can't even attend a funeral without offending people.
Some fellow Democrats call him a bully and consider him untrustworthy,
and his poll numbers are plummeting. Clashes with leaders
of his own party have contributed to a stalemate over "He's trying to
act as the king, but Elvis is dead. It can't be 'I gave an edict and
that's it,"' said one of his most vocal critics, Democratic state
Sen. Denny Jacobs. Politicians are not
the only ones griping. State employees are
angry about his insults and threats of layoffs. Businesses complain
he vilifies them while raising their taxes. He invariably shows up late
for events, once holding up the funeral of a respected state senator.
Blagojevich blamed the weather, though other prominent This week, women in
both parties took offense when he implied Attorney General Lisa Madigan
was shilling for her father, the House speaker, when she ruled the governor's
plan to mortgage a state government building in Blagojevich (pronounced
blah-GOY-uh-vitch) insists all the friction is a result of his push
to change the way business is done in "All the hue and
cry you hear is what this process is, and that's what being governor
is," he said. "You work through all of that. I welcome it." The 47-year-old Chicago
native and former congressman succeeded Republican Gov. George Ryan,
who cleared out death row and suspended capital punishment but was also
shadowed by a bribery scandal that resulted in federal charges after
he had left office. Blagojevich appeared
to have all the allies he could need. For the first time in 25 years,
a Democratic governor had Democratic majorities in both the House and
Senate. And during his first
few months, Blagojevich got everything he wanted. His first state budget
plugged a roughly $5 billion deficit and was rubber-stamped by lawmakers.
Despite some annoyance over his decision to live in Then they started to
reverse some of the budget cuts. Blagojevich went on
the attack, calling them "drunken sailors" on a "spending
orgy." He said they were making back-room deals to protect special
interests. He also branded the
state Board of Education "a Soviet-style bureaucracy" in a
State of the State address devoted almost entirely to its failings. "That was a stunt
to make somebody look bad so he could look good," said Democratic
state Rep. Joseph Lyons. "I'm just tired of that. I'm just tired
of this victimization of anybody who doesn't agree with him totally." Charming and energetic,
Blagojevich impresses people who meet him one-to-one. He seems baffled
that anyone would be personally offended by his criticism. His remarks
focus on groups, he says, not individuals. His administration chalks
up the legislative problems to inevitable differences of opinion, especially
in dealing with this year's $2.3 billion deficit. Aides deny the stalemate
says anything about Blagojevich's leadership, noting he forged an alliance
with the Senate president to fight for more education and health care
money. "A sign of poor
leadership would be to cave in on those principles just to get an agreement
or meet a deadline," said Deputy Gov. Bradley Tusk. Blagojevich relies heavily
on polling to keep tabs on voter opinion; he paid at least $116,000
to a polling firm his first year in office. The latest numbers are
not good. Blagojevich's approval rating was 40 percent in a recent Chicago
Tribune poll, down from 55 percent in February. A perception that he
is losing public support could weaken him at the Capitol. Speculation about Blagojevich's
interest in higher office -- fueled by fund-raising trips to The Republicans are
watching for ways to turn Blagojevich's problems to their advantage. "He's a very nice
fellow, very outgoing, very gregarious and fun to talk to, but he has
never been known as one who works hard at the governing process,"
said Rep. Lee Daniels, the former state Republican Party chairman. "That's
starting to show now." Dems'
hissing match stalls budget Dave McKinney, Sun-Times
A skilled but underappreciated
veteran lawmaker finally getting his first taste of power. A freshman governor
with little tolerance for legislative sausage-making and a love for
press conferences. Together, House Speaker
Michael Madigan, Senate President Emil Jones and Gov. Blagojevich have
brought state government to a standstill in a stalemate over the tedious
chore of putting together a new budget. It would be one thing
if they were members of different political parties or were from opposite
geographic poles. But all are Chicago Democrats engaged in a once-in-a-generation
hissing match over who wields the most clout in House Speaker Michael
Madigan What he wants in a new
budget: No increases in business
taxes or fees $538.6 million in new
spending for schools, but lowered spending elsewhere Keep the Increase spending for
City Colleges Restore cuts to open
space land acquisition program Restore state tourism
cuts Gov. Blagojevich and
Senate President Emil Jones What they want in a
new budget: Increase business taxes,
cut corporate tax breaks and use of special-purpose state funds Increase school spending
$400 million Roughly $600 million
to cover inflation in Medicaid program and broaden eligibility for FamilyCare
and KidCare health insurance programs for the poor Keep Close Vandalia prison
and the Cut open space land
acquisition program Cut nonessential government
services by $373 million When Democrats seized
complete power of state government for the first time since the mid-1970s,
hopes of political harmony and a common agenda swept over state government.
But 17 months later, backbiting, name-calling and fingerpointing have
transformed this Democratic juggernaut into a Yugo up on blocks. Not only couldn't the
three Democratic kingpins pass a state budget by Memorial Day, they
now will have to turn to Republicans to get a spending deal approved
before July 1. Without an agreement by then, the government could shut
down, depriving state workers and welfare recipients of paychecks and
leaving Democrats with a giant shiner. "This is so destructive
for Democrats. When Democratic legislators come back to our districts,
this is exactly what people are saying on the streets: 'What's going
on with the Democrats?' " said Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago).
"We waited all these years, and look at what's happening to us." The central conflict
is between the governor and Madigan. The state's Democratic Party chairman
first attempted to clip Blagojevich in his campaign by suggesting he
had committed "indiscretions" during his early political years
without ever saying what they were. To follow that up, Madigan put Blagojevich
on notice after he'd won, lecturing a governor who once served in the
General Assembly that the Legislature is a co-equal branch of government
with the executive branch. Despite those confrontational
signals, Madigan accommodated the governor and pushed a succession of
his initiatives through the House and into the state's lawbooks last
year. But the goodwill has come to a crashing halt. Publicly, Madigan --
dubbed by one lawmaker as the "Bobby Fischer of But Madigan doesn't
respect Blagojevich's leadership credentials, is irritated by the governor's
attacks on the Legislature and mugging for television cameras and despises
some of the governor's key advisers, most notably his budget chief,
John Filan, associates say. The icy relationship
was perhaps damaged irreparably last week when Blagojevich accused Madigan's
daughter, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, of shilling for her father
by unexpectedly thwarting a $217 million deal to mortgage the "We like the governor
a lot," Madigan spokesman Steve Brown insisted Friday, only a day
after characterizing Blagojevich's criticism of Lisa Madigan's Blagojevich harbors
a deep distrust of the speaker, believing Madigan wants to weaken him
politically by cornering him into accepting an income tax increase --
a key campaign pledge the governor has vowed not to violate. Many observers
believe the speaker's ultimate goal is to position his daughter for
a run at governor, though the attorney general has made no such ambitions
known. After serving briefly
under Madigan as a member of the Illinois House, Blagojevich also believes
the speaker is having a difficult time coping with no longer being the
most powerful Democrat in Asked about that dynamic,
the governor coyly responded, "I couldn't possibly comment." Pressed further about
whether he thought a dislike for sharing power with other Democrats
was an influence in Madigan's hard-line budget stance, the governor
smiled broadly and nodded, cognizant he was being tape-recorded during
an interview with the Sun-Times. Earlier this spring,
Blagojevich began preparing for confrontation with Madigan by setting
up a special campaign fund from which contributions are doled out to
sympathetic lawmakers. So far, the fund has given $62,500 to nine current
or future Democratic House members through March. While the speaker's
aides politely welcomed that initiative, many inside Madigan's camp
viewed the move as meddling in the House Democratic caucus. Blagojevich has managed
to block Madigan on the budget by striking an alliance with Jones. On
Sunday, the governor and Senate president will crisscross the South
and West sides, attending black church services to encourage attendees
to urge their state representatives to turn up the heat against Madigan
on the budget. Jones and Blagojevich
are philosophically in tune on the budget. But there also is an undercurrent
between the Senate president and speaker. Some suggest that Madigan
has not given Jones the respect he deserves, treating him as if he were
a "junior partner." In April, Madigan agitated
Jones by embracing proposed restrictions on state borrowing that were
pushed by Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville) and that
Jones had bottled up in the Senate. Watson was allowed to testify on
the plan at a House hearing Madigan convened, and the two have been
closely allied ever since despite their glaringly different political
stripes. Asked about his dealings
with Madigan, Jones went so far as to question the speaker's devotion
to the Democratic Party's core principles. "I'm a member of
the Democratic Party of Illinois, and I look at our platform. . . .
I'm holding true to that platform as it relates to education, health
care and the needy of the state of While doings in "The Democrats
are the losers here. They fumbled the ball," said budget expert
Charles Wheeler III, a political scientist at the Governor
wanted control, now he must prove himself Pantagraph Editorial,
Gov. Rod Blagojevich
may eventually claim victory in his efforts to reorganize the Illinois
State Board of Education, but he will give up more than he was seeking. His victory, if you
can call it that, would be getting the power to replace State School
Superintendent Robert Schiller and seven of the nine board members on
July 1. Without a change, he would have been able to appoint three members
immediately to fill vacancies plus another two spots in January when
two six-year terms expire. The change has been
approved in the House, but there is a slightly different version in
the Senate. What the governor sought
but the House would not give him the power to do was gut the board and
create a Department of Education under his control; require schools
to join purchasing pools and put school design/construction under his
office's control. Some would call it a
defeat for the governor, but we think Blagojevich asked for more than
he expected to get, so maybe his only strategy was to put his own people
in power as soon as possible. July 1 marks the beginning of the state's
fiscal year. Blagojevich had wanted
to wrest control of education from the ISBE, saying it is not directly
accountable to the public. The governor said if he and the Legislature
are going to be accountable for problems such as inequitable funding
and revenue shortfalls, then he needed more control over ISBE's operations. Schiller, who has publicly
criticized the governor's plan and is likely to be replaced immediately
if the governor's new appointees are seated -- if the superintendent
doesn't resign first -- has insisted that his office is merely following
the laws as written by the Legislature and approved by previous governors. The governor thinks
his plan will enable him to guide a reformation not unlike that of the
Chicago Public School System after Mayor Richard Daley was handed control
of those struggling schools. It will be interesting to see if Blagojevich
would reach out to the architect of that reformation under Daley --
Paul Vallas. Vallas lost to Blagojevich in the 2002 Democratic primary
election. The compromise plan
would still generate at least $200 million in savings over four years,
according to the governor's office, but is far short of the $1 billion
the governor said his plan would have saved. If the Senate approves
the plan, we hope the governor makes the most of this opportunity and
doesn't squander it with appointees who become rubber stamps for the
governor and forget their purpose is to help improve education in The governor is right
that his office should have more control over the ISBE if the governor
is going to be held accountable for education/school financing problems.
Soon, he will probably have the primary control he was seeking. His
effectiveness will be judged in two years if he seeks re-election. Budget
jam may help local schools John Patterson, Having blown their May
31 constitutional deadline to arrive at a balanced budget, the Democratic
leaders of the House and Senate must now reach out to Republicans to
muster the votes to approve a budget deal. Almost immediately,
suburban Republican leaders said their schools must be included in any
plan to increase school funding. Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Senate President
Emil Jones Jr., both Chicago Democrats, backed a plan to increase school
funding by $400 million, mostly by increasing the minimum guaranteed
level of spending per student statewide to $5,060 - a $250 increase. But many suburban schools
are considered too wealthy to qualify for the general state aid formula
and, therefore, would see none, or very little, of that money. "We want to make
sure we have a fair break between upstate and downstate. The foundation
level increase is primarily more beneficial to downstate schools,"
said House Republican leader Tom Cross of How much money that
involves, or where it comes from, remains uncertain at this point. With
their deadline past, lawmakers left the Capitol June 1 and were told
to be prepared to be called back on 24 hours' notice should a budget
deal be struck. Both the House and Senate are returning June 9, but
to vote on other issues. What Cross and other
suburban lawmakers want is more state funding for education programs
the state requires schools provide but doesn't fully fund. Transportation
and special education programs cost districts millions. Most suburban
schools get the bulk of their state tax dollars from state reimbursements
for these programs, though that still doesn't cover 100 percent of the
cost. "Considering the
state of the economy in Illinois, I'd say suburban schools at the very
least would like to see the mandated (programs) fully funded,"
said Donna Baiocchi, executive director of ED-RED, a suburban education
group representing more than 100 districts in Cook, DuPage and Lake
counties. And "fully funded"
is a misnomer. For instance, the state's idea of full reimbursement
of a special education teacher amounts to $8,000. That was set in 1985
and even then didn't fully cover a special education teacher's pay.
The current cost is about $40,000. Baiocchi supports raising
the general state aid formula because the special education schools
need it. But she said suburban schools shouldn't be left out of the
mix. "To fund the foundation
level at $250 and to ignore the special education (budget) lines is
certainly neglecting the needs of most suburban school districts,"
she said. The state's complicated
formula for funding schools is primarily based on one thing - the value
of local property. School districts with high-priced homes and thriving
businesses, in theory, can raise most of their money locally and, therefore,
don't get much state aid. For example, the tiny Rondout Elementary District
72 based near In contrast, the What that means is it
is far easier for Rondout to get local dollars to educate students than
it is for The state's complex
formula for funding schools attempts to recognize this. That's why An increase in the state's
guaranteed funding level for students could send added millions to "We don't get much
in that regard. So when they change that, it doesn't affect us a great
deal. Most of our funding is supported by local taxes. It works for
us," said Rondout's Superintendent Renee Goier. Cross and other suburban
lawmakers and education officials said any budget deal needs to be fair
to all. The catch is finding the money to do it. Patrick J. Powers, "We've been ready
since ... February to work on this budget, but unfortunately ... the
House couldn't complete its work," Blagojevich said at Learning
Journey preschool in "It's a big game
of chicken to see who blinks first," said Kent Redfield, a political
scientist at the State Rep. Jay Hoffman,
D-Collinsville, has been spearheading budget negotiations for Blagojevich
and said he anticipates an agreement in the next couple of weeks, if
not days. "We've been meeting
on a daily basis.... I think that we've made progress," he said.
"I believe we're moving forward and we're going to do this before
there's a threat of a shutdown and I think we'll succeed." The Illinois House earlier
last month advanced a "no-growth" budget proposal without
the governor's requested increases in education and health care spending.
Metro-east schools would lose $16 million and 7,100 people here would
lose health care without the funding, Blagojevich said. "We're not going
to short-change our kids," Blagojevich said. "We're not going
to cut spending in education. We want more investment in education.
We're not going to kick anybody off of health care." The $1 million in additional
spending would push the state budget to $54 billion. And according to
Blagojevich, the money would come from reducing state agencies' budgets
by 2.25 percent, shrinking the size of state government, shuttering
some state facilities and closing corporate tax loopholes. "We're not going
to raise the income tax and we're not going to raise the sales tax,"
Blagojevich said. "There are ways to keep this budget balanced
without raising the income tax or sales tax, but it does require saying
'no' to some of the powerful interests in The Illinois Senate
passed Blagojevich's plan last month, but the Illinois House has yet
to vote on it. "The key is for
(Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan) to sit down and try to come
up with something that we all can live with," said state Sen. James
Clayborne, D-Belleville. "I think there are people in the House
who want to pass this budget, it's just a matter of the Speaker calling
(it)." A representative from
Madigan's office couldn't be reached for comment Monday. Madigan and the two
Republican leaders have not spelled out a detailed alternative, but
they generally favor keeping spending at the current level and approving
fewer of the business taxes and raids on special funds. Phil Weber, Herald-Whig
A recent national survey
shows almost half of American teenagers admit to cheating on tests,
reports and other school work in the past year, and an informal survey
of 10 area high school students and recent graduates shows this region
seems to fit the national trend. Every area teenager
asked — from both public and private schools — said academic cheating
is relatively common at their school and is accepted by students, especially
on day-to-day work. "I've done it on
homework, but it isn't worth risking a zero on a test," said one
student who asked not to be identified. "If you are involved in
sports or something, you may not have time to do all the homework. You
ask to borrow someone's paper before class to copy." The 2003 Gallup Youth
Survey poll of 2,000 teens nationwide taken between January 2003 and
March 2004 shows 46 percent of high school students age 13-17 admit
to cheating on at least one exam in the past year. Sixty-five percent
say cheating is a problem in their schools. One student, who also
asked to remain anonymous, said he was surprised only 46 percent owned
up to their cheating. He thought it would have been closer to 60 percent.
"You see it all
the time. If it is something they care about, then they'll put in some
real effort. Otherwise they don't bother," he said. "Why waste
time on something we're never going to use?" Many teachers nationwide
agree that cheating is a growing concern for American high schools.
A recent survey of 725 teachers conducted by CNN.com showed that 58
percent thought cheating was either a "very serious" or "somewhat
serious" problem within their schools. Quincy High School Interim
Principal Rollie Platt and Assistant Principal Tim Kreinberg said they
would be "naive" to believe students don't cheat at their
school, but both said they have not seen it reach the same proportions
as the national survey. When cheaters are caught
at QHS, it usually means at least an automatic zero on the assignment
and probably a call to the student's parents. However, in extreme cases
or for habitual cheaters, the penalty could be that the student is removed
from a class or suspended from school. "Whenever we find
out about those things, we deal with it pretty heavily," Platt
said. Pittsfield High School
Principal Lonny Lemon said his school had 10 proven cases of cheating
this year, but he said it is unrealistic to believe those were the only
incidents out of a 400-member student body in eight daily classes. "We watch it as
closely as we can, but we're probably close to that (46 percent) number,"
he said. Some teachers involved
in the national survey are seeing an increase in the number of students
using camera phones and text messagers to pass information. Most area
schools have banned pagers, cellular telephones and text message devices
from their classrooms. Only one area student had ever heard of students
using a cell phone to "text" answers back and forth during
an exam, and that was at an area college. Schools can sign up
for Internet-based services that allow teachers to download questionable
papers so they can be compared to thousands of reports to look for plagiarism.
The cheating in area
schools seems to be low-tech — crib notes, writing on hands or writing
on the bill of a baseball cap seem to be the most common methods. One local student said
he had a classmate who wrote notes on bubble gum wrappers, then re-wrapped
the gum in its original package. He declined to say if the student was
caught. Afrocentric
curriculum proposed for District 65 Sean D. Hamill, After decades of struggle
to close the achievement gap between white and black students, Despite a warning from
District 65 Supt. Hardy Murphy that the African-centered approach would
be controversial, the school board asked him Monday to research the
concept. "It's going to
be debated," Murphy said. "What is not debatable is there
are students in our district who we are not reaching." Hardy said he expected
it would take at least a year to examine the matter before he could
report to the board. White pupils in the
Of the district's 6,300
pupils in kindergarten through 8th grade, 43 percent are black, 42.3
percent white and 10.6 percent Hispanic, according to the 2003 school
report card. Shepard's proposal has
received support from two local groups: the African American Parents
for Positive Learning Experience (AAPPLE) and the local branch of the
NAACP. "No one would talk
about it before," Shepard said. "So I'm at least encouraged
[the district is] going to talk about it." Shepard and Tressa Randolph,
a representative of AAPPLE who attended Monday's meeting, said they
envision a curriculum that is "African-centric," rather than
"Eurocentric." "It would address
confidence and self worth," said Randolph, who said she is concerned
that not enough African history and literature are taught in In other action at Monday's
meeting, a teacher resigned after facing disciplinary action when she
and two other teachers displayed a skeleton in the teachers lounge to
protest federal testing requirements. Vikki Proctor had fought
to keep her social studies and language arts position at King Lab school. "Although I take
this action reluctantly, it is very apparent that District 65, under
the current leadership, does not value teachers or students or any dissent
on matters of public concern," said Proctor. On Tuesday, Proctor
filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Proctor alleges her
free-speech rights were violated when she was transferred from King
Lab. District officials could
not be reached to comment on the lawsuit. "I'm sorry to see
her leave," board member Hecky Powell said Monday night. Gala M. Pierce, Daily
Herald, Instead of a basic name
check, which only checks someone's criminal records within the state
of "A fingerprint
check is much more comprehensive and complete," said Steve Caliendo,
assistant superintendent for personnel at Tuesday's school board meeting.
"For that reason, ... With a vote of 4-1,
the school board approved moving forward with the switch. Caliendo estimated
the electronic fingerprint system will cost School board member
Jayne Resek thought the extra money was worth it. "Having read about
some of the situations that other districts have run into without having
any ability to check beyond the state limits with the name check, I'm
very supportive of the extra $7,000," she said. Board member Jeff Glaser,
however, opposed the change. "It just seems
to me a violation of a person's privacy," he said. "We have
given up so much of our privacy lately, and I don't feel any safer." Currently, The district would perform
background checks on substitute teachers, bus drivers, custodians and
all support staff - not just teachers, Caliendo said. "We all feel very
strongly that it's just not a good enough protection for kids,"
he said. State education Superintendent
Robert Schiller will ax the The School Board has
been eager to see the panel disappear. In exchange for Schiller's dissolution
of the panel four months before its legal expiration, the board has
agreed to let a Schiller-appointed transition team run the district
for the next year. Schiller attended a
last-minute meeting called by the board Wednesday in "We're trying to
put a management structure into place that is not currently there,"
Schiller said. Schiller said his decision
to eliminate the financial oversight panel, which the state appointed
in 1994 to keep financial control of the district for 10 years, followed
"negotiations" with the School Board's attorneys. Richard Mark, chairman
of the panel, said he didn't see the proposal until Wednesday morning,
when he was informed the panel would be dissolved by June 17. He said
he had received a phone call informing him that there were ongoing,
"secret" meetings among Schiller, state Sen. James Clayborne,
"I was pretty shocked
that they are going to do this without ever discussing any of the details
with the financial oversight panel," Mark said. "This boils
down to some back-door deal that continues the status quo in East St.
Louis - a status quo where the adults there play games about who's getting
hired instead of worrying about the 75 percent of high school students
who didn't meet standards in reading or math." Schiller said he saw
nothing wrong with the notification Mark received. In exchange for eliminating
the panel early, Schiller will appoint an interim chief executive officer
who will run the district until July 2005. When the oversight panel
is dissolved June 17, the business personnel who run the district's
financial affairs also will be out, and the interim CEO must hire an
auditor, a deputy superintendent and a chief financial officer. Under
the new proposal, a transition team - made up of Schiller and two superintendents
from northern and central Schiller said he hopes
to appoint the interim CEO in the next two weeks. Superintendent Nate
Anderson will leave June 30, and he is using up his vacation days until
then. He cited the struggles between the board and the panel as a reason
for his resignation. Mark said he's not optimistic
about the next few weeks. "The financial
administrators are done as of June 17," Mark said. "This is
a $92 million operation, and we're not even sure who will be running
it. With some of those people gone, I don't know how they are going
to make payroll." The relationship between
the School Board and the panel has never been harmonious. The state
took over financial control of the district in 1994, after students
sat for weeks in crumbling classrooms, some without teachers. Some students
got no lunch. As panel chairman, Mark
has long been an outspoken critic of the School Board, alleging that
it is more interested in handing jobs to friends than educating students.
The board, along with Mark called Schiller's
last-minute decision to dump the panel "unprofessional" and
said the three-member oversight panel has done what the state asked
it to do. When the panel was appointed, the district faced a $5 million
deficit. Now, it has $20 million in reserves with nine new schools built
or in the planning stages. "We did it as a
voluntary thing for nine years," Mark said. "If he doesn't
want us to serve anymore, fine. I wipe my hands of it. I want to say,
'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.'" But Mark said he is
worried about what will happen to the pending lawsuit against the panel
regarding the panel's removal of Lonzo Greenwood as School Board president.
The panel says it has evidence that "If Schiller does
not pursue legal action against School
isn't out but fun has begun About the time teacher
Sue Gouldsberry starts to see the year-end glaze in her 3rd-graders'
eyes, she tosses out the textbooks and looks for ways to keep the children
engaged. Goodbye, math homework
and spelling lists. Hello, Bubble Day and Field Day and Picnic Day and
Chocolate-Tasting Day and Awards Day and Occupation Day. "Was it academic
to spend 2 1/2 hours investigating bubbles? No. But did they learn things?
Yes," said Gouldsberry, a 29-year teacher at Brookdale Elementary
in "You lose them
a couple days before Memorial Day," she said. "They're worn
out. They know what they know ... so you can set them loose a little." All this year-end fun
can seem a little too loosey-goosey to some parents, who scratch their
heads at a sea of social events, movies and fluffy field trips--a fallow
period that seems to have grown over time from a couple of days into
a week or more."This last week of school is an utter joke,"
said Frank Skorski, a parent at Many educators argue
that it's senseless to try to beat new lessons into the children's heads
when they are all bolting for the door. At the tag end of the state-mandated
176-day school year, they say, it's better to leaven the learning with
good times. But some also acknowledge
that the fun serves other purposes, allowing staff the time to take
care of logistics such as final grades, book inventories and even cleaning
up the schoolhouse. As teacher Mary Ann
Hardtke stood on the deck of an Then, she and her colleagues
glanced over at their 5th graders splashing in the water. "Oh, I don't think
THAT would fly anymore," joked her The teachers said these
activities have become tradition in Still, Vickers hadn't
given up on teaching her 5th graders some new material. She squeezed
in one last science lesson before the start of Swim Day, the one she
knew could hold the children's attention for an hour at any time of
year: "Human Reproduction." More pressure, some
say The perception that
children and teachers hit the wall earlier than ever reflects the pressure
at schools these days, some educators contend. Between rising expectations
for what the youths should know, and the effort to pack in as much learning
as possible before standardized tests are given, they say the children
need the break. "There's still
isn't enough time to get everything in ... but you need those pressure
relief valves," said Brookdale's Chuck Seidel, who ended his 29-year
career as a principal Wednesday with a one-hour school day and a final
burst of festivities. "When I started, they weren't doing algebraic
equations in 5th grade. Now they are." "You hear over
and over that there isn't enough time to teach all the things that need
to be taught, but the real issue is, has the time been maximized?"
Schiller said. "I know it's real hard to teach `Hamlet' to students
in the last week of school. But for the purists, we'd love to see instruction
take place until the last bell rings." Year-end bookkeeping Beyond the burnout,
some mundane demands are driving this slowdown. In most public schools,
the teachers end the year about when the students do, which means they
have to clear out classrooms and complete report cards days before the
final bell rings. Savvy students figure out when the grade books close
and scoff at any attempts to complete "real" schoolwork after
that. Nancy Fong of "Forget it. The
teachers already turned in their grades," Alizarin Menninga told
her brother, Thalo, whose last week featured an ice cream social, a
pool outing and a 5th-grade graduation party. Keith Coleman--watching
10-year-old Marcus play in the "I don't agree
with it 100 percent, but teachers need to provide some sort of outlet,"
Coleman said. "But maybe some sort of field trip would be better
than just hanging out at the pool." In Wilmette District
39, teachers have to strike a balance between fun and frivolity. So,
poetry readings and outdoor science experiments with "sludge"
are fine. Great "We try to look
at these last few weeks as an opportunity to do some creative projects,"
said Supt. Max McGee, who played summer Scrooge when he told officials
at two schools they couldn't take their students to Great America on
a school day. He also frowns on teachers
devoting class time for student cleanup projects. "They have to be
learning something, not just playing around," McGee said. At Elmwood Elementary
in Still, Krebs says even
the strictest of teachers has to be flexible to accommodate both pre-summer
restlessness and the demands of spring baseball seasons, easing up a
little on homework assignments. There's no final-week
frivolity to be found at Notre Dame Elementary, a Catholic school in
Clarendon Hills. The children get out a little early on Friday, and
the year ends not with a party but a church service, a teacher said. The only celebration
is one held that evening by the parents. Even for the 1st graders, reading
homework and new spelling words and timed math tests continue through
the last day. End isn't near for some While most suburban
districts are already out for the year, the summer slowdown hasn't really
hit in a big way for public schools in "Maybe it will
hit in another week ... but we're still working at the same pace,"
said Kathy Smith, whose 1st grader attends the fast-improving Rhetoric heats up as lawmakers meet again on budget / Courier News Mixed actions: Lawmakers
approve $850 million loan but nix cash for school aid By Doug Finke, COPLEY
NEWS SERVICE, SPRINGFIELD — Illinois
lawmakers approved a short-term borrowing plan Wednesday to pay backlogged
Medicaid bills, but the Senate torpedoed extra money needed to make
a full school aid payment in June in a fight over pet projects. Legislators returned
to Although the borrowing
plan got overwhelming support from lawmakers in both parties, Republicans
used the bill to engage in a little partisan bashing of Gov. Rod Blagojevich. "We are here because
of the failure of leadership" by Blagojevich, said Sen. Peter Roskam,
R-Wheaton. "Somehow he has managed to mess up a three-man parade." Roskam and other Republicans
said there would have been no need to borrow the money if the current
state budget was balanced. "It seems this
budget is out of whack by $2 billion," said Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington.
"It's time to admit we made a mistake." However, Democrats said
the GOP simply was grandstanding and trying to blame Blagojevich for
financial conditions that aren't his fault. "The fiscal crisis
we find ourselves in is not due to (Blagojevich's) leadership. It is
due to previous (Republican) governors," said Senate President
Emil Jones, D-Chicago. Loan terms need approval
The bill approved Wednesday
calls for the state to borrow $850 million. The loan is contingent on
Blagojevich, Comptroller Dan Hynes and Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka reaching
agreement on the loan terms. The money will be used to pay virtually
all the Medicaid bills that are awaiting payment. Some of those bills
have been pending for more than 60 days. By acting before June 30, the
state will get a 53 percent reimbursement on the payments from the federal
government. After June 30, the state would get only a 50 percent reimbursement.
The higher reimbursement is worth about $25 million. To help win support
from Republican lawmakers, the bill also calls for creation of an eight-member
task force to investigate placing more Medicaid recipients into managed-care
programs. Only about 7 percent of Illinois Medicaid recipients are now
in managed care, the lowest percentage of any of the surrounding states.
"It's a huge savings if we can get a bigger percentage of the population
under managed care," said Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson,
R-Greenville. Democrats traditionally
have resisted forcing Medicaid recipients into managed-care programs. Spat sinks cash for
schools Although the borrowing
plan was approved, a supplemental spending bill went down to defeat
in the Senate in a fight over lawmakers' pet projects. Among other things,
the bill would have given more money to the The bill needed 36 votes
to pass the Senate, but it received only 31. Many Republicans voted
against the bill after $26 million was removed that would have been
used to build a trap-shooting complex in Luechtefeld said the
project needs to be approved before June 30 to bring the Amateur Trapshooting
Association to "We look at this
as a tremendous economic development opportunity for southern However, Democrats said
that the Republicans were hypocrites. Only a week ago, they complained,
Republicans blasted a budget proposed by Jones as loaded with pork for
"If we do something
for the ( Despite the vote, the
bill is not dead. Lawmakers are expected to return to =========================================================================== NATIONAL Middle school goes the way of junior high Cities: Many districts,
including Education Beat: Mike
Bowler, Baltimore The middle school replaced
the junior high about three decades ago and seemed to be one idea that
would never go away. But in American cities, it's going the way of the
dodo bird. A number of urban districts
across the country are doing away with middle schools, replacing them
with schools serving kids in kindergarten through eighth grade. Thirty years ago, districts
around the country were busy replacing junior highs with middle schools.
The thinking was that children mature faster and are intellectually
and emotionally better suited for intermediate schooling after the fifth
grade. And lowering the middle school age by a year - junior highs enrolled
kids in the seventh, eighth and ninth grades - had the effect of returning
the ninth grade to the senior high school, where most experts felt it
belonged. But now such leaders
as In Whether the K-8 bandwagon
will chug its way to the suburbs remains to be seen. But there is a
model at the ready: Roman Catholic schools never left the wagon. Those
parish schools have been on the K-8 schedule as long as anyone remembers.
If it works in As in the Windy City,
New York’s public schools will hold back third-graders who fail standardized
tests BY DEBORAH HIRSCH, Newsday,
Repeating the grade
this year has given him extra time to learn the material, said his grandmother,
Mickey Smith, who teaches at Goudy. "He just wasn't ready,"
she said. "I always fooled
around a little," Pitner said, "and on the In The policy of holding
back kids who don't pass the tests is considered one of the nation's
toughest. It was started about seven years ago to prevent "social
promotion" -- students being moved up despite failing. In April, the To help struggling third-graders,
In Starting in 2001, Since the program started,
students' test scores have improved significantly. More students are
attending school and graduating. Fewer are dropping out. In 1998, less than 40
percent of all third- through eighth-graders in "It's been successful
to the point that it's helped the entire student body because of accountability,"
said Goudy's principal Patrick Durkin. "The students realize there's
no tolerance, there's no passing unless you pass the test." Goudy students once
had among the lowest test scores in Researchers say the
promotion policy is just one reason for higher scores. Stronger test
preparation and increased spending are among others. But, unlike Shane Pitner,
not everybody has as positive an experience the second time around.
Repeating a grade can be a huge blow to a student's self-esteem. Some
never get back on track. Short-term gains While test scores have
gone up overall, studies criticize Earlier this year, The new standards have
created more pressure on students, said He said he and his classmates
spent at least half a month preparing for the testing week that determines
if they graduate middle school, entering ninth grade. But since teachers grill
students on material that will be tested, those who succeed aren't necessarily
learning, said Bob Schaeffer of the "The test becomes
school and pushes out all other kinds of learning," he said. "In
many cases, it turns kids off to learning because there is no excitement,
there's no discovery, there's just test preparation and testing, memorization
and repetition. It numbs the mind." In School Pushes Reading, Writing, Reform Sciences Shelved in
Effort to Boost Students to 'No Child' Standards By Linda Here is 9-year-old Zulma
Berrios's take on the school day: "In the morning we read. Then
we go to Mrs. Witthaus and read. Then after lunch we read. Then we read
some more." Zulma has left out math,
recess and the daily hour of such offerings as art and PE. But otherwise,
her summary is accurate. In Katherine Segal's
third-grade class at Highland Elementary School in Wheaton, much of
the science and social studies curricula has been glossed over, or skipped
entirely, because Zulma and other students must be taught -- soon --
to read better. Those kinds of tradeoffs
are being made across the nation, primarily at public schools such as
A look inside one school
shows how life has changed in the new era of educational accountability.
The daily hour once
devoted to science and social studies has been replaced by writing for
second- and third-graders. "Once they learn
the fundamentals of reading, writing and math, they can pick up science
and social studies on the double-quick," said Jerry D. Weast, superintendent
of Yet teachers worry that
two strata of schools are being created, one in which students gain
broad knowledge and the groundwork for becoming scientists, and another
in which children will, in some ways, be left behind. Scott Steffan,
the President Bush has pressed
hard for education reform because, he has said, far too many children
leave school unequipped to succeed and "there must be consequences
for schools that won't teach and won't change." The Mandate for Class with Ms. Segal,
a fifth-year teacher, begins each morning with a county-mandated 90
minutes of reading. For 50 minutes, Tracey
Witthaus pulls out a small group of third-graders -- including Zulma
-- for Soar to Success, an intensive reading-comprehension program used
at many county schools. Instead of studying school desegregation and
the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, Zulma's group finishes
a book about a grasshopper storm and practices reading strategies: Predict,
summarize, question, clarify. "Clarify,"
said Zulma, who began the year reading at the late first-grade level.
"When I come to a word I don't know, I look for chunks I do. Reminded.
Re-mine-ded." "Clarify,"
said Zulma's classmate Erick Diaz, 9, who began the year reading at
a second-grade level. "When I come to a word I don't know, I look
for chunks I do. Hailstones. Hail-stone-s." Erick's mother, Ana,
is pleased with his progress. But she said she had no idea the class
did so little science, in which she thinks Erick would excel. And she
had no idea that the reading interventions would take him out of class
so much. The The school year is nearly
over, and none of Segal's third-graders has compared the climates of
Segal did lead her 27
students on a cursory swing through plant development; they grew plants.
They spent one day taking fingerprints -- their only other science experiment
-- but never explored the rest of the crime lab unit, which is designed
to teach over several weeks the concepts of patterns, evidence and inference.
In 2008, the No Child
Left Behind Act adds science to the reading and math tests that states
must give. School system administrators have said science can be woven
into reading lessons or taught to groups of students who already read
well. Segal weaves in what
she can; her students, the ones not out of the room in reading intervention,
spent a good deal of May researching Zulma clearly enjoys
the small reading groups, and she enjoys improving. When she isn't chosen
to read, she loses her usually imperial air and sinks her head into
her arms. Zinia Barrios said she now sees her daughter pick up a book
to read, just for fun. After lunch, recess
and math, most of Segal's students work on writing while others, including
Erick and Zulma, read lists of words in unison with Mrs. Witthaus in
a program called Horizons. Rosie Ramirez, But for students behind
in reading, Ramirez said, "what's happening at that time will probably
be more effective than what's happening in the classroom." For all the interventions
and extra resources that Most Bush has said every
student should read at grade level by the end of third grade. "Anyone who came
to this school and sat down for a while would say that's a very high
expectation," Segal said. Testing for Skills "This afternoon,"
Segal tells her fidgety students, "we're going to be reading a
story from the Images magazine and doing some multiple-choice questions
and short answers." The new wave of intensive
reading instruction relies on keeping tabs on students' skills. Three
times a year, And over two days in
the spring, every third-grader takes the annual Maryland School Assessment
in reading -- the exam by which the school's progress is judged under
No Child Left Behind. When the Images test
starts, Erick is preoccupied with having just been called "bighead"
by a classmate. He turns around and reads the bulletin board. He yawns.
Nearby, Zulma is stumped.
The story packs a lot of information into 12 paragraphs: the origins
of baseball, the evolution of the mitt, the coeducation of Little League.
Zulma knows soccer and basketball, but not baseball. Most towns have some
kind of organized leagues like Little League. In which sentence does
the word organized mean the same thing as in the sentence above? A. The desks were organized
in rows. B. The teacher has her
files organized in her desk drawer. C. The musicians played
in organized bands for the concert. D. He organized his
collection of baseball cards. This doesn't make sense
to Zulma. She knows "organized," but can't distinguish any
difference in its meaning among the sentences. Segal has tried to prepare
her students for those types of questions and uses the testing language
throughout the year. She has taught them multiple-choice skills and
how to write inside tiny answer boxes. But she wonders why a test question
can't just say, "What did you learn?" instead of, "Explain
how your knowledge of baseball has remained the same or changed."
When she grades her
students' answers, Segal is not surprised that they range from incomprehensible
to irrelevant to, rarely, acceptable. "If it was one question,
it would be okay," Segal said. "But they're overwhelmed with
what they have to do at one time." County teachers frequently
receive printouts showing in what areas the class is lacking. For some
assessments, teachers listen to each student read for 30 minutes, creating
hours that the class gets no instruction. The scrutiny is designed
to make sure nobody's deficiencies go unnoticed. One of the most revolutionary
aspects of No Child Left Behind is the requirement that states not only
give students yearly exams, but also that they break down results by
student population, such as Hispanic, or special education. If any group
misses the target, the whole school does. Each year that a school
falls short, it experiences a new set of services and sanctions. Already,
If Highland finds out
next month that its scores on the Maryland School Assessments have fallen
short again -- short of a target that gets higher every year, as the
federal law demands -- the school could be subject to a new curriculum,
an extended school year or less autonomy. And in 2006, Meanwhile, staff members
said they aren't sure what they might be doing wrong. The U.S. Department
of Education Web site states, "Annual testing provides teachers
with a great deal of information." But when the 2003 "What does this
tell me about what we could do better?" A few weeks ago, A Community Mobilized
On May 12, President
Bush appeared in After receiving a Reading
First grant, Every school must deliver
the instruction the same way, in English only. So "If that's true,"
said county Deputy Superintendent Gregory Thornton, "it certainly
hasn't helped the aggregate [test scores] of the school." Teachers try to discern
where the decision is originating so they can press their case. Parents
begin meeting, too. Principal Ramirez has never seen anything mobilize
the community like this. In the school library
one evening, 40 parents, most of them Spanish-speaking, devise a plan.
They'll circulate petitions. They'll talk with TeleFutura, a Spanish-language
cable network. They'll show up at the Board of Education. They'll fill
out transfer forms as a statement -- not that they want to move their
children out of One mother raises her
hand. "Who should the letter be addressed to?" There is silence. New group attacks education reform law By Kimberly Miller,
The group, Citizens
for Quality Education, debuted nationwide television ads criticizing
the 1,100-page law passed in 2002 that requires all public school students
to be performing on grade level by 2014 regardless of race, disability,
or newness to the country. Schools that consistently
miss goals set by each state must provide transportation to better-rated
public schools, pay for tutoring, and ultimately could face state takeover. The ads are being aired
in Last year 84 percent
of "There is such
a conflict between these two assessments," said Damien Filer, a
spokesman for Citizens for Quality Education. "Lots of folks are
very proud they are an A school, and then they are told they are a failing
school by the federal government." Filer would not say
how much the 30-second ads cost the newly formed group, which is supported
by the National Education Association and the Florida Education Association. "These groups should
be applauding the education achievements and great strides Florida education officials
debuted a new school report card Wednesday they hope will help parents
understand how their child can attend an A school, but that doesn't
make standards under No Child Left Behind. The report card will be available
after school grades are issued June 15. Because each state was
able to create its own standards in meeting the federal law, there is
no way to compare one state with another, and some states set the bar
lower. Educators and politicians
in several states, including The state is giving
school districts some leeway in how it offers choice to students in
schools not making standards under the federal law. To reduce transportation
costs, school districts may use the choice options already offered,
such as charter schools, the The change is a boon
to St. Lucie County, which allows parents to choose their own school
each year through its controlled school choice plan. But the new rule came
too late for "In a district
this large you just can't wait until summer to get things rolling,"
said Kay Scott, who oversees No Child Left Behind for 'No Child'
act should be fully funded Gary L. Allen,
Guest columnist, Cincinnati Enquirer Teachers, principals,
parents, and others who work with Ohio's schoolchildren and who read
Rep. John Boehner's, R-West Chester, guest column "Education act
far from unfunded mandate" (May 4), might think they live and work
in a parallel universe. That's because Boehner's representation of school
funding and conditions in Unfortunately, Boehner
continues the false claim that the state has more than enough money
to pay for the rigid demands of the so-called "No Child Left Behind"
education law. This federal law requires states and school districts
to develop and administer standardized tests in reading and math and
punishes schools that don't show "adequate yearly progress"
on their test scores. But anyone who has been
in Ohio's public schools lately knows the money just isn't there to
maintain what we presently offer - let alone implement new federal mandates.
Voters in more than
half of the local school districts with levies on the recent ballot
voted down additional property tax hikes to make up the difference.
This state and local funding crunch has already forced schools across
the state to lay off teachers, trim time for instruction and professional
development, and cut back on courses in areas such as arts, music, social
studies, and foreign languages. Estimates indicate at least 3,000 school
positions will be lost to the current school funding crisis and that
is a travesty for quality education. The pressure from "No
Child Left Behind" is making If this money were going
to things children really need - smaller classes, quality teachers and
staff, early childhood intervention, up-to-date materials and technology
- it might be worth the sacrifice. But the so-called "No Child
Left Behind" federal mandate actually diverts existing state and
local funds from classrooms to pay for more bureaucracy, paperwork,
and standardized testing. And in This federally-mandated
law also uses a one-size-fits-all approach to evaluating schools and
students. Educators know that children learn at different rates and
in different ways, but rather than helping each child receive the individualized
attention he or she needs, the law relies too much on standardized tests
to measure annual progress in student learning. According to a recent
poll by the National PTA, eight out of 10 parents oppose using testing
as the only factor to measure student progress, thus rejecting this
one-size-fits-all approach. Accountability is a
two-way street that must be shared not just by schools, students and
those who work in education, but also by policymakers and legislators.
While many understood that President Bush had promised to support full
funding for "No Child Left Behind" programs, his budget requests
and the actual funding approved by Congress have fallen far short of
the promised amounts. That's why state Sen.
Greg DiDonato, D-New Philadelphia, has called on the president and Congress
to fully fund the federal mandates of "No Child Left Behind."
Legislators in more than 20 other states are taking similar action to
protest the unfunded and unworkable mandate. Clearly, the president
and Congress are not keeping their promises to children, to parents,
to their communities and public education. It's time for them to step
up to the plate by fixing and funding NCLB so that our children get
the resources and attention they need to learn and become fully participating
and productive citizens. Gary L. Allen is the
president of the Ohio Education Association Missouri
ranks 44th, Carolyn Bower, Post-Dispatch Average teacher salaries
in A spokesman for The "To have a quality
public education system, we have to be able to attract and retain the
best teachers," said Greg Jung, president of the Missouri National
Education Association. "A ranking of 44th in the nation is really
disappointing. This indicates that public education is not the priority
that the people of this state want it to be." Salary averages do not
tell the whole story, education leaders said. Gaps, sometimes large
ones, exist in teacher pay district to district in both For example, in Similar disparities
exist in Teacher salaries vary
partly because of differences in cost of living. Salaries also vary
because some local districts are able to come up with more tax revenue
than others. Charles McBarron, director
of communications for the Illinois Education Association, said: "It
would be easy to look at the Typically, states take
steps to overcome the disparities between rich and poor districts by
providing funding from their treasuries. But both The NEA report shows
that in That stood in contrast
to McBarron and Jung say
schools here are too dependent on local property taxes. "It's all about
tax base and geography," McBarron said. "Where you live in
McBarron said the Illinois
Education Association had joined A+ Illinois, a coalition of groups
working to improve equity in the financing of public schools. In Despite $140 million
in increases for schools approved by legislators, "Until state legislators
grapple with funding gaps and come up with a better solution, we will
continue to see the gaps widen," Jung said. Hazelwood school Superintendent
Chris Wright said that when it came time to determine teacher salary
increases, she looked at what other school districts in the region pay
their teachers. She said it was important when much is expected of teachers
to offer competitive salaries and to reward them for what they do. Wright called "If we as a state
want to offer quality of life and an environment for children second
to none, we need to step up to the plate with salaries," she said.
"Obviously that will require additional state money." In Hazelwood, salaries
and benefits make up about 86 percent of district spending, a slightly
higher percentage than some other larger districts, where salaries and
benefits make up roughly 80 percent of district spending budgets. The NEA surveys the
states for base pay for teachers. However, the data Jim Morris, a spokesman
for In the NEA report, states
with the highest average teacher salaries included Most states near From 1992-93 to 2002-03,
the percentage increase in average salaries of public school teachers
in constant dollars (adjusted for inflation) was 4.4 percent for Illinois
and 0.4 percent for Missouri. Reading
school district, state in court over No Child Left Behind Act Joann Loviglio, Associated
Press, "It's ludicrous
to give our Spanish-speaking kids a test in English - a test they cannot
understand - and then say that they they've failed it," attorney
Richard L. Guida argued before a three-judge The Education Department
attorney Ann G. St. Ledger told the judges that the state's hands are
somewhat tied because it must act within the guidelines outlined by
the federal legislation. She also argued that the state has not had
enough time to develop Spanish-language assessment tests but that it
plans to do so. The school district
wants to prevent the state from imposing any sanctions until the department
provides assessment tests in Spanish and until the district receives
financial assistance that "fully funds" the cost of complying
with the law. Some of the 13 schools
were placed on a school-improvement list, meaning they had failed to
make "adequate yearly progress" for two consecutive years,
while others were placed on a warning list for failing to meet the academic
goals for the first time. The school district
also argues that the state Department of Education was providing no
financial assistance to help them comply with requirements. In Pennsylvania - where
results are measured through the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment
tests administered in grades five, eight and 11 - officials have established
that schools should start with at least 45 percent of students proficient
in reading and 35 percent proficient in math. "My concern is
that this act doesn't deal with what it's supposed to correct,"
President Judge James Gardner Colins said. Census:
Spending Up for Public Schools Genaro C. Armas, Associated
Press/Miami Herald, The increase came when
communities - many still paying off huge debts from the school construction
boom of the 1990s - encountered mounting budget woes as the In turn, schools struggled
to meet the sobering challenges of hiring more teachers, reducing class
sizes, fixing older facilities and meeting stricter educational quality
guidelines, some advocacy groups say. The Census Bureau figures,
although the latest available, are two years old, and therefore don't
account for the bulk of costs associated with the No Child Left Behind
Act, the sweeping education reforms pushed by President Bush and signed
into law in 2002. "You've got enormous
costs on the horizon for most school districts," said Daniel Kaufman,
spokesman for the National Education Association. Collectively, spending
for public elementary and secondary school systems, rose about 6 percent
to $435 billion. Districts spent just
over $7,700 per pupil, not accounting for costs related to construction
or capital needs. That's up from $7,284 the previous year. There were wide variations
among the states, ranging from the over $10,000 spent per pupil in Connecticut,
New Jersey, New York and the District of Columbia; to five states that
spent less than $6,000 per student - Utah, Mississippi, Arizona, Idaho
and Tennessee. School enrollment in
2002 was just under 47.2 million nationally, down slightly from 2001,
although it was impossible to tell if that was a true enrollment decline
because of a change in the way the Census Bureau compiled the data. The report comes as
political debate rages over whether federal dollars should foot for
more of the expense of federally pushed initiatives. A recent report
from the National Conference of State Legislatures, a bipartisan group
of state lawmakers, said states were paying $10 billion for improvements
in special education and $9.6 billion for No Child Left Behind. Most funding for school
systems - about 93 percent - comes from state and local tax dollars. Edward Kealy, executive
director of the Committee for Education Funding, said the federal government
was shortchanging states and localities. Many communities have made
up for shortfalls by increasing classroom sizes or raising local tax
dollars, he said. Opponents point to a
study by the Congressional Budget Office, Congress' investigative arm,
that found that the No Child Left Behind Law and the special education
initiatives are voluntary programs, and technically aren't government
mandates.
Illinois State Board of Education |
