HR0178 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0178 LRB094 11393 HSS 42278 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, There are approximately 18,000 individuals employed by public school districts across Illinois as school support staff who provide quality services such as custodial, food services, and transportation; and

WHEREAS, These non-privatized jobs pay fair salaries and benefits which prevent high turnover of staff and create continuity of service, safety and care for our children; and

WHEREAS, These non-privatized jobs currently allow employees to earn a living wage, health insurance, and pension benefits for themselves and their families; and

WHEREAS, Many school districts are currently considering privatization of school support staff as a way to solve their budget problems; and

WHEREAS, Privatization of these services and jobs causes severe hardship to the workers and their families who lose good jobs that pay a decent salary and health and pension benefits; and

WHEREAS, The newly privatized jobs most often pay low wages with few, if any, benefits; and

WHEREAS, Those who argue that contracting out is less expensive than in-house service delivery often ignore the hidden costs of privatization, such as expenditures for contract monitoring and administration, conversion costs, charges for "extra" work, and the contractor's use of public equipment and facilities; and

WHEREAS, Advocates of privatization argue the profit motive provides an incentive for efficiency, but all too often it is actually an incentive to "cut corners" by skimping on the quality of the work performed; and

WHEREAS, Privatization creates opportunities for corruption, such as bid rigging, bribery, and kickbacks; and

WHEREAS, The great majority of educational support workers live in the school district where they are employed, and they feel responsible to their neighbors for the quality of their work; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we believe that non-privatized school support services deliver better and safer services than privatized services, create more stability and continuity for students and create better jobs for employees than privatized school support services; and be it further

RESOLVED, That privatization of school support staff positions in any and all Illinois School Districts is strongly discouraged by the Illinois House of Representatives.