Members of Evanston’s two school boards voiced frustration at a recent joint meeting between the two districts with a proposed school funding formula that would shift millions of state dollars away from both Evanston Township District 202 and Evanston/Skokie School District 65.
Gov. Bruce Rauner has said he would not support the latest rewrite of the state’s school-aid formula introduced by Democratic state Sen. Andy Manar. The most recent iteration proposes to do what prior pieces of legislation have sought to accomplish: Shift state dollars from wealthier districts to poorer districts to provide more funding to schools in communities with lower property values. If the legislation passed, Evanston Township High School District 202 would lose $2.2 million while Evanston/Skokie District 65 would see a loss totaling roughly $6.1 million in annual state funding, according to chief financial officer for ETHS, Bill Stafford. Broken down per pupil, the loss would amount to $885 per student for District 65 and $719 per student for District 202.
ED-RED, an advocacy organization which lobbies on behalf of dozens of school districts and counts both District 65 and District 202 among its members, has not taken a position on the school funding bill, said District 202 board member, Gretchen Livingston. Livingston also sits on the ED-RED executive board.
“The vast majority of ED-RED member districts would be losers under Senate Bill 231, just like the predecessor bills. There are a handful of ED-RED districts who would be winners,” Livingston said.
She said it “behooves” districts to come together around a funding model everyone can support.
“The problem is the winners and losers developed under the current model and all predecessor models — none of them contemplate additional money coming in so there will always be losers,” Livingston said.
Despite Rauner’s stated opposition to the legislation, District 65 board president Tracy Quattrocki said the two districts “need to think aggressively” to successfully oppose the bill.
District 202 board member Anne Sills asked how best the district should amplify the message that the real issue is a lack of funding for public education statewide, which she said creates “this kind of dialogue about who wins and loses.”
District 65 Superintendent Paul Goren said he’s contacted colleagues in other districts in hopes of building support around opposition to the proposed funding formula without much luck.
“I did reach out to maybe six or eight school districts to see if there was interest in at least coming together for breakfast to talk about it and, with all respect to our colleagues, there was reluctance to do so,” he said. Goren said he planned to meet with Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, to discuss the school funding proposal.
“No redistribution without more money,” said District 202 board member Jonathan Baum. “It’s very simply an easy message to get out.”
Livingston cautioned that advocating for an influx of new money into the education system statewide is also complicated because it necessitates widespread support behind a revenue generating mechanism.
“That is something ED-RED is grappling with, too. Will its member districts be able to line up behind a particular revenue option, whether it’s income taxes or some other form of taxation?” she said. “That’s been part of the conversation, but there’s no easy answer. We represent many districts.”
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.