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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois serves over 2,000,000 | ||||||
3 | students in 862 school districts statewide; and
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4 | WHEREAS, State funding for pre-kindergarten through grade | ||||||
5 | 12 education in Illinois has been reduced by $861,000,000 since | ||||||
6 | fiscal year 2009; of that amount, general State aid has been | ||||||
7 | reduced by more than $320,000,000; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Illinois ranks 50th in terms of the state | ||||||
9 | proportion of kindergarten through grade 12 funding, providing | ||||||
10 | for just 32.5% of all funds spent on kindergarten through grade | ||||||
11 | 12 public education, despite the plain language of Article 10 | ||||||
12 | of the Illinois Constitution, which states: "The State has the | ||||||
13 | primary responsibility for financing the system of public | ||||||
14 | education."; and
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15 | WHEREAS, In 2007, 23% of Illinois school districts reported | ||||||
16 | deficit spending, and today more than 67% of Illinois school | ||||||
17 | districts report deficit spending; and
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18 | WHEREAS, Reductions in State spending have increased | ||||||
19 | school districts' reliance on local resources, impacting | ||||||
20 | classroom services and financial stability, at a time when | ||||||
21 | school districts are required to do more necessary improvements |
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1 | and initiatives, such as teacher and principal evaluations, new | ||||||
2 | and higher learning standards, and assessments; and
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3 | WHEREAS, The General Assembly must stay engaged in public | ||||||
4 | education issues and be prepared to make legislative and | ||||||
5 | administrative recommendations; therefore, be it
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6 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | ||||||
7 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that there is created the | ||||||
8 | Advisory Committee on Education Funding, consisting of members | ||||||
9 | appointed as follows: 4 members of the Senate majority caucus | ||||||
10 | appointed by the President of the Senate, one of whom shall be | ||||||
11 | designated as a co-chair, and 4 members of the Senate minority | ||||||
12 | caucus appointed by the Senate Minority Leader, one of whom | ||||||
13 | shall be designated as a co-chair; and be it further
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14 | RESOLVED, That the Advisory Committee on Education Funding | ||||||
15 | shall do the following: | ||||||
16 | (1) conduct a thorough review of the existing | ||||||
17 | distribution methods and expenditures of all | ||||||
18 | pre-kindergarten through grade 12 education funding, with | ||||||
19 | a focus on general State aid as defined in Section 18-8.05 | ||||||
20 | of the School Code; | ||||||
21 | (2) make recommendations to implement an education | ||||||
22 | funding system that: | ||||||
23 | (A) is adequate; |
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1 | (B) is equitable;
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2 | (C) prepares students for achievement and success | ||||||
3 | after high school; and | ||||||
4 | (D) supports teachers and school leaders; and | ||||||
5 | (3) consider the following when making its | ||||||
6 | recommendations: | ||||||
7 | (A) the number of students in a school and school | ||||||
8 | district and the level of need of those students, | ||||||
9 | including special needs populations; | ||||||
10 | (B) a school district's ability to provide local | ||||||
11 | resources to pay for basic educational needs;
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12 | (C) transparency and accountability; | ||||||
13 | (D) revenue predictability to support sound | ||||||
14 | planning and budgeting by school boards and | ||||||
15 | administrations;
and | ||||||
16 | (E) the long-term implications and outcomes of the | ||||||
17 | funding system, along with provisions that require the | ||||||
18 | system to be monitored, publicly reported, assessed, | ||||||
19 | and improved over time; and
be it further | ||||||
20 | RESOLVED, That the Advisory Committee on Education Funding | ||||||
21 | shall seek input from stakeholders and members of the public on | ||||||
22 | issues and possible improvements to the existing funding | ||||||
23 | system; and be it further | ||||||
24 | RESOLVED, That members of the Advisory Committee on |
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1 | Education Funding shall serve without compensation, and the | ||||||
2 | State Board of Education shall provide administrative and other | ||||||
3 | support to the Advisory Committee on Education Funding; and be | ||||||
4 | it further
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5 | RESOLVED, That the Advisory Committee on Education Funding | ||||||
6 | shall meet at the call of the co-chairs, but shall meet a | ||||||
7 | minimum of 4 times per year; and be it further
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8 | RESOLVED, That the Advisory Committee on Education Funding | ||||||
9 | shall share its legislative and administrative recommendations | ||||||
10 | with the President of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the | ||||||
11 | Senate no later than February 1, 2014; and be it further
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12 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
13 | delivered to the Chairperson of the State Board of Education | ||||||
14 | and the State Superintendent of Education; and be it further
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15 | RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education shall provide a | ||||||
16 | copy of this resolution to school districts in this State.
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