Gov. James Thompson will lay his tax cards on the table this week when he announces specific funding proposals for education reform before a joint session of the General Assembly, a top aide said Sunday.
Thompson, who has suggested several alternatives for providing additional money for the state`s public schools, will reveal his specific tax proposals in the speech Wednesday, according to David Gilbert, the governor`s press secretary.
Top legislative officials who will hear the governor`s pitch are warning that any increase in funding for public education must be accompanied by substantially higher accountability for teachers and administrators.
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Although Thompson is scheduled to release his overall 1985-86 tax and spending plan on March 6, he wants ”to focus on the single issue of education” by holding the special session Wednesday, Gilbert said. ”He doesn`t want the education component to get lost in all the budget proposals he`s making in March. So he`ll lay it all out on Wednesday.
”He will be talking in more specifics about plans for reforms in education, what`s needed and what new money he will seek to implement them.” Thompson has ruled out an increase in the state income tax this year but has indicated he is considering a 5 percent tax on interstate telephone calls and an 8-cent increase in the state cigarette tax.
Thompson already has indicated he wants to increase spending for elementary and secondary education by $330 million. In his Feb. 5 State of the State address, the governor also recommended a five-year, $2.3 billion ”Build Illinois” public spending plan that includes $200 million to revamp educational facilities.
State legislators will have more than a half-dozen proposals for school reform on their desks when they take up the issue this spring.
While the various proposals recommend different approaches to education, they have some common points: All would require more funding, and all suggest that much of the money go to raise teachers` salaries.
A proposal released this month by former state School Supt. Michael Bakalis calls for a shift of considerable responsibility from the state to local school districts and would let schools design their own curriculums.
The Illinois Project for School Reform, which was headed by Bakalis and involved months of meetings with citizens and education officials throughout the state, called for raising teachers` salaries and toughening certification requirements for incoming teachers. The cost of implementing the proposal was tagged at $265 million.
A proposal released in January by the Illinois Commission on the Improvement of Elementary and Secondary Education called for linking an increase in state aid to improvements in student performance. The three-year, $1.2 billion plan calls for a hike in the state income tax and recommends the formation of publicly stated learning objectives for students and a doubling of the state`s minimum teacher salary to $20,000. The statewide average for beginning teachers is $13,700 a year.
The Chicago Teachers Union has offered a plan to police its ranks by setting up teams of veteran teachers to evaluate teachers who are identified by principals as inadequate and, if necessary, to urge them to quit. The union`s 47-point plan also recommends a base starting salary of $20,000.