July 27,
2010
To the
Honorable Members of the Illinois Senate,
96th
General Assembly
Today, I return Senate Bill 2499 to the Illinois Senate,
vetoed in its entirety.
I commend the sponsors of this bill for their commitment
not only to the constituents they represent, but also to all of the citizens of
our State. They are tireless advocates for their communities with a genuine
interest in improving education in their districts and beyond.
Senate Bill 2499 amends the School Code to specify that
starting with the 2010-2011 school year, if a school
district's boundaries span multiple counties, then the Illinois State Board of
Education must use the limiting rate and individual rates by purpose for the
county that contains the majority of the school district's Equalized Assessed
Valuation.
For Fiscal Year 2011, the General State Aid remains fixed
at the same level as the previous two years. School districts in Illinois have not had any increase in general state aid despite increasing costs. In
addition, districts face delayed payments for special education programs, early
childhood education block grants and transportation services. Many have
received less than half of the payments that are owed to them for FY 2010.
Both of these factors have resulted in a significant drain on school resources
and districts are faced with difficult choices on maintaining programs. I
cannot approve a measure that will boost General State Aid to one district at
the expense of all others.
As Governor, I have fought to ensure adequate resources for
students in every school district in Illinois. Despite the most difficult
fiscal conditions in our State’s history, I have maintained the foundation
level at $6,119. Approving this bill means lowering the foundation level in
every other school district in the State—which I cannot approve of at this
time.
I truly believe that in the near future, we need to
evaluate the way that we fund education in Illinois. Financing a 21st
century education with a 19th century funding model is not beneficial
to students and is not fair to taxpayers. However, making piecemeal changes
will not fix the system. I look forward to genuine reform in the context of a
much broader discussion of funding our State’s priorities.
Therefore, in accordance with Article IV, Section 9(b) of
the Illinois Constitution, I hereby return Senate Bill 2499, entitled “AN ACT
concerning education.”, with this statement of objections, vetoed in its
entirety.
Sincerely,
Pat Quinn
Governor