School funding bill stirs debate at forum

None of the experts at a recent forum at Deerfield High School claimed Senate Bill 16 was a perfect fix to the state’s flawed school funding formula. But they did seem to agree it has triggered an important conversation on providing fair and adequate funding to all school districts in the state.

“Senate Bill 16 starts the conversation,” said Deerfield District 109 Superintendent Michael Lubelfeld, who is among suburban school leaders opposed to the bill and in favor of a different approach.

Though state officials say Senate Bill 16 aims to make state funding more equitable for all school districts, Lubelfeld and superintendents in the Chicago area have recently decried what they consider to be an unfair shifting of the burden – arguing that the state isn’t giving enough money to schools.

“We want to raise the floor, so to speak,” Lubelfeld said. “We do not want to lower the ceiling.”

If the bill were made law, District 109 and other North Shore districts with comparatively high property values would lose money, according to state officials. Passed by the state Senate, the bill hasn’t yet been voted on in the House.

At the forum, Ben Boer, policy director for Advance Illinois, explained the existing state formula for school funding, under which local taxes provide the bulk of the needed money.

The state is supposed to provide money to level the playing field, Boer said.

But that hasn’t been happening, Boer said. As state funding for schools has declined in recent years, districts with high numbers of low-income students and less ability to get money from taxes have suffered the most.

“Illinois needs to have a conversation about adequate funding,” Boer said. “In addition to being one of the most inequitable states in the country, we’ve obviously been cutting on the backs of our most vulnerable students.”

The bill would overhaul the existing state formula to make school funding more equalized, which means the calculations would take into account a district’s ability raise money through local property taxes, said Robert Wolfe, chief financial officer for the Illinois State Board of Education.

Advance Illinois supports the passage of Senate Bill 16.

Panelists at the forum included officials from the Illinois State Board of Education, the advocacy group Advance Illinois and Lubelfeld, who represented some local superintendents.

While only a couple dozen people attended the forum, hosted by state Rep. Scott Drury, the first-term Democrat representing the 58^th District, it was clear that some were alarmed at the possibility of losing state aid. Drury read questions from the audience written on note cards to the panelists.

One such question claimed the bill penalized “wealthy districts for being successful.”

“Why not give every district the same amount per student? … It seems that Senate Bill 16 smacks of socialism,” Drury read from the note card.

Wolfe argued that it’s in the state’s best interest – financially and otherwise – to have students do well both in school and once they’re in the work force.

“Unfortunately within the state, every student doesn’t have the same opportunity,” Wolfe said. “Part of the economic reality and base for our state, our country, is to have performers … who are successful in careers and productive in providing contributions back into the system.”

The formula under the proposed state law would factor in weighted categories such as how many low-income students and English-language learners a district has, as well as the district’s available local resources, among other variables, he said.

A district with a lower property tax base would get more state aid than another district with similar student demographics, Wolfe said.

Wolfe said the state education board considers the bill “a good start” but has identified areas for improvement, including a closer examination of how available local resources are measured.

Lubelfeld said various state education groups – including Illinois Association for School Administrators, the Illinois Association of School Business Officials and the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools – were working to create a different plan.

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Senate Bill 16 has emerged as a political issue in Drury’s campaign for reelection, as his opponent Mark Neerhof, a Lake Forest Republican, has questioned his opposition.

As he has in recent interviews, Drury reiterated at the forum that he was against the bill.