A high-powered governor’s task force called Tuesday for overhauling school funding by increasing income and sales taxes while cutting property taxes and for merging school districts so they all are set up to handle kindergarten through 12th grade.
The funding recommendation–which would dramatically alter school spending by shifting the burden from local property owners to statewide taxes–also calls for pumping an additional $1.8 billion into the state’s elementary and high schools.
Illinois ranks 48th in the nation in percentage of education funding that comes from the state. Its reliance on property taxes means some districts spend $15,000 a year per student while others spend $4,000.
Shifting the burden away from property taxes and toward statewide income and sales taxes would ease the inequities, according to members of the Education Funding Advisory Board, which developed the plan.
“This is about providing an opportunity for all students to have an adequate education,” said Anne Davis, president of the Illinois Education Association and a member of the board. “We want all of our schools to be successful, and right now there is a wide gap. We think this proposal will help close some of those gaps.”
The advisory board plans to hold four public hearings and submit final recommendations to Gov. George Ryan this fall.
The plan is likely to be a tough sell. The school funding tax swap and school district consolidation have been suggested, and handily shot down, in previous years.
“We know this plan is not politically feasible right now, but it was our job to put together a funding plan that makes sense,” said Robert Leininger, a former state superintendent of education who heads the advisory board. “If people in Illinois want to belly up to the bar, we could have a system in Illinois that is fair to kids and get more money to the poverty areas.”
The proposal calls for cutting property taxes 20 to 50 percent and replacing them, dollar for dollar, with state money, which would come from higher income and sales taxes. The proposal also calls for increasing the foundation level, or the money the state sends to school districts based on enrollment and wealth, from $4,560 per student to at least $5,665.
Leininger said no district would lose money under the plan.
Just as controversial is the proposal to merge all districts into “unit” configurations, or kindergarten through 12th grade.
Illinois has the third-largest number of school districts in the nation, ranging from about 30 pupils in Otter Creek-Hyatt School District in LaSalle County to about 435,000 in the Chicago Public Schools.
Proponents say merging small districts saves taxpayers money by getting rid of administrative jobs and providing economies of scale for goods and services. Opponents say small districts offer a close-knit environment for students and more local control for parents.
Some educators say local resistance to consolidation may be softening as budgets are strained.