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BETTER FUNDING FOR BETTER SCHOOLS COALITION
The mission of this coalition is to reform the way schools are funded and to ensure a quality education for all Illinois children.
Overview:
Illinois Schools are in crisis:
- It is estimated that over 80% of our schools will be deficit spending in FY04;
- 188 school districts are on the financial warning list and 300 on the financial watch list in March, 2003;
- Over 400,000 children in high poverty schools are failing to meet Illinois Learning Standards;
- 800,000 school children statewide are not meeting math and reading standards; and
- Over-reliance on state property taxes for education funding has created grave disparities from one district to the next (per pupil operating expenditures currently range from a low of $4,297 to well over $18,000) and created a system where the wealth of a child’s community determines the quality of the education received by the child.
Principles of Reform:
- Increase funding for schools
- Lessen the state’s reliance on property taxes for education funding and replace property tax revenues with fair, reliable, state-based revenue sources.
- Provide a guaranteed level of property tax relief through a system of rebates.
- Permit no reduction in other social services.
- Provide adequate education funding via a continuing appropriation so that schools can responsibly budget for their needs.
- Allow school districts to maintain or increase current funding through referendum.
- Off-set additional tax burden on low- and moderate-income families by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (“EITC”) and increasing personal exemption, phasing it down as income increases.
- Educate stakeholders about the problems with Illinois’ current education funding system by using a variety of measures such as town meetings, videos, broadcast discussion groups and letters to the editor.
Illinois children are counting on all of us – elected officials, school officials and members of the community.
Adopted March 7, 2003
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