A month after doling out $14 million for pork projects handpicked by lawmakers, the Illinois State Board of Education slashed $25 million from its budget this week, including $5 million for gifted education programs and nearly $700,000 that would have gone directly to targeted Chicago schools.
“The state is looking at a $750 million deficit and, in working with the governor’s office, we were trying to do our part and see where we could save money,” said Matt Vanover, spokesman for the board.
The rising costs of state worker pensions and Medicaid, and a slowdown in revenue growth have led to an ominous financial picture for the state. Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration has called on lawmakers to consider eliminating tax breaks for corporations and to sweep money from special funds with balances.
Rebecca Rausch, spokeswoman for Blagojevich, said unless lawmakers pass a “revenue generator,” all state agencies must make cuts.
“We are trying to control spending where we can by asking agencies to put on hold the grants that are not critical,” she said. “We are telling them that the prudent thing to do is put your money toward the critical areas.”
But even as State Board of Education officials zeroed out school-based budget items, they were sending money out the door to 90 non-profit, business and church groups as part of an ongoing program to fund after-school projects sponsored by state lawmakers acting on behalf of friends and constituents.
The grants, doled out in January and February, ranged from $1.5 million to After School Matters, the non-profit started by Maggie Daley, wife of Mayor Richard Daley, to $20,000 to the Al Malik Temple for Universal Truth and the Institute for Positive Learning. In most cases, state education officials have no idea if the programs are worthy of funding because there is very little, if any, pre-screening involved. The lawmakers approve the grants and then send them to the state board for approval.
A month after those grants were awarded, state education officials slashed between $25,000 and $30,000 targeted for each of 17 Chicago schools, including Blaine Elementary School, Lake View High School and Lane Tech High School. They also cut a $4 million rural learning initiative and got rid of a program that would have increased pay for teachers and principals who work in hard-to-staff schools.
“It’s devastating to us,” said Sally Walker, executive director of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children. “We’ve been working so hard to get a gifted program up and running again, and now they’ve sent a message that gifted education is not a priority.”
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