Rauner education funding changes bring $3.1M more to Conroy’s school districts

Defenders of Senate Bill 1 are putting a bailout of Chicago Public Schools ahead of their own local school districts.

Will state Rep. Deb Conroy, D-Villa Park, sacrifice local school districts for a Chicago bailout?

Gov. Bruce Rauner’s changes to a school funding bill would bring over $3.1 million more to school districts she represents, but Conroy could vote to scrap those changes in favor of special privileges for Chicago Public Schools.

The Illinois Senate on Aug. 13 voted to override Rauner’s amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1, a school funding plan. Rauner’s changes to the bill stripped it of language that primarily or exclusively benefited CPS at the expense of school districts in need across the state. Under the amendatory veto, no school district would receive less money than it did in 2017.

In fact, Rauner’s changes would bring more money to 97 percent of Illinois school districts, compared with the original version of SB 1 lawmakers sent to his desk. That includes a total of $3.1 million more for school districts Conroy represents. As SB 1 heads to the Illinois House, Conroy and other representatives will be deciding whether they want to put a Chicago bailout ahead of their own local school districts.

Rather than embracing changes that would have brought greater fairness and equity to the education funding formula, senators voting to override the governor’s amendatory veto chose to continue a long history of state bailouts for CPS.

If Conroy votes to override the governor, she will be doing the same, at the expense of students in her district.