Gov. Rauner got a glimpse at the potential future of science education Tuesday during a brief visit to Shepard Middle School in Deerfield.
Rauner, who lived in Deerfield as a child, paid a visit to his former hometown at the invitation of District 109 Superintendent Michael Lubelfeld, who said he first reached out to the Governor through Twitter.
Lubelfeld said he wanted the governor to see the great things the district is doing in STEM education, including new science labs and technology offerings for students.
School board members and local lawmakers, including Mayor Harriet Rosenthal and State Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Deerfield, joined Rauner for the tour of the school’s new science labs, which are designed to meet Next Generation Science Standards.
The four labs were built as prototypes last summer at a cost of $3 million, which the district funded by banking general state aid. The district said it plans to renovate the remaining two science labs at Shepard, as well as six labs at Caruso Middle School, this summer at cost of about $5.175 million.
Lubelfeld said the district considers these to be best science labs in the state of Illinois.
Sixth graders met with Rauner in the gym and asked him a few questions.
“Where did you go to college?” a student asked. Rauner said “Dartmouth” and started to downplay it as a small school in the middle of rural New Hampshire. The student raised his hand again.
“But isn’t it an Ivy League school?”
“Yes,” replied Rauner with a laugh.
The governor then met briefly with school officials, including School Board President Steve Schwartz, who stressed the importance of state funding.
“We work real hard to (put) the dollars that come into this district to the best use,” said Schwartz. “Most of the construction that you see around here, including these labs, are funded by our general state aid, which we put aside in order to do projects like these.”
“I’m excited to be here,” said Rauner, “not only because this is home, but because you really are leaders in education quality here, and I do want our administration to learn about what you’re doing.”
Rauner alluded to his proposal to cut $6 billion from next year’s state budget.
“We’ve got big changes we need to make,” Rauner said. “Change is hard, but I am committed, as I told your students, I’m very committed to having the best schools in America.”
“Education should be the most important thing we do with taxpayer money, in my opinion,” he said.
After the governor’s departure, Lubelfeld addressed the question of state funding under the Rauner administration.
“In Deerfield we take great pride in putting our general state aid to good use,” said Lubelfeld. “Our hope is that equitable funding and an adequate solution can be create in Illinois, so those in need can benefit just like those who are not in need are able to benefit.”
“I would hope the impact on our school district and on our community can be minimized,” he said.
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