The state should simplify and amend the General State Aid formula to end loopholes, and require each school district to fully report its true property wealth when requesting means-based state aid.
Yesterday marked Illinois lawmakers’ deadline to introduce bills for this spring’s legislative session. Our government affairs team was down in Springfield, finalizing Illinois Policy Action’s 2014 legislative agenda. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the major legislative initiatives we’ll be pushing this session: Pension reform State Rep. Ron Sandack has introduced a bill that...
Despite increased funding over the past10n years, most Illinois elementary schools and high schools still struggle to teach students the basics of reading and math. Some of this is due to laws that allow poor-performing teachers to stay in classrooms, but most is due to the structure of Illinois’ education system itself. Here are 10...
Despite increased funding over the past 10 years, most Illinois elementary schools and high schools still struggle to teach students the basics of reading and math. Some of this is due to laws that allow poor-performing teachers to stay in classrooms, but most is due to the structure of Illinois’ education system itself. Here are...
With this year’s budget speech just a day away, details of Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s plans to deal with the state’s financial problems are slowly leaking to the press. According to reports, the governor will call for a $400 million cut to the portion of K-12 education budget that is spent on students. But, don’t be...
Chicago Public Schools cannot erase its $1 billion budget deficit alone – it’s going to need some help. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the school board know the situation is dire. This is why they have proposed closing 120 schools next year, a move that could save $500,000 to $800,000 per school closed. But, to...
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.