There are fewer students and more teachers in Illinois today than a decade ago, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. Teachers unions push the shortage myth to gain power.
School board members in rural Illinois said district consolidation will ease staff shortages made worse by the pandemic. A statewide look at district consolidation could cut administrative overhead and put $732 million more into classrooms.
Redirecting some of Illinois’ school district administrative overhead could attract top talent to the more than 4,100 teacher openings. The savings could be $1,317 per taxpayer in one veteran teacher’s hometown. Reform pensions, and that amount grows.
Illinois students could soon benefit from scholarship money to help them find a tutor, attend ACT or SAT prep sessions, pay tuition, get special education services or assist with other academic needs. That will happen in Illinois only if Gov. J.B. Pritzker lets the state’s schoolchildren benefit from the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program, established...