Full Text of HJR0113 94th General Assembly
HJ0113 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The reform of the Chicago public school system in | 3 |
| 1995 granted the mayor of the City of Chicago and the board of | 4 |
| education a great deal of flexibility in the management of City | 5 |
| of Chicago School District 299 (CPS); and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, CPS still receives a quarter of the State's annual | 7 |
| appropriations for elementary and secondary education; and
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| WHEREAS, CPS received approximately $1.6 billion in fiscal | 9 |
| year 2006 in State funding, representing an increase of more | 10 |
| than $90 million;
and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, Despite the increase in State funding, the Chicago | 12 |
| Board of Education approved a budget of approximately $5 | 13 |
| billion, down $2.4 million from fiscal year 2005;
and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, The fiscal year 2006 budget for CPS calls for a | 15 |
| 1.9% property tax hike (the maximum increase allowed under | 16 |
| State law) and also calls for the school district to dip into | 17 |
| its cash reserves for the second time in 3 years; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, CPS's budget has been criticized by taxpayer | 19 |
| watchdog groups as lacking in transparency, with operating | 20 |
| costs continuing to skyrocket despite reduced staffing and | 21 |
| enrollment; and | 22 |
| WHEREAS, Following the adoption of the budget by the | 23 |
| Chicago Board of Education, local taxpayer watchdog groups | 24 |
| issued a letter to the State Board of Education demanding a | 25 |
| State audit of the school district's use of consultants, which | 26 |
| the Chicago Board of Education has increased by $70 million for | 27 |
| fiscal year 2006;
and | 28 |
| WHEREAS, Further concerns have been raised over community |
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| input into the decisions on which schools should be shuttered | 2 |
| and which proposed schools should serve as replacements under | 3 |
| Chicago's Renaissance 2010 plan that calls for the closure of | 4 |
| 60 of the lowest performing schools in order to open 100 new | 5 |
| charter, contract, or performance schools over the next 5 | 6 |
| years; and | 7 |
| WHEREAS, CPS received $11 million in new funding in fiscal | 8 |
| year 2006 for early childhood education programs, which the | 9 |
| Chicago Board of Education has decided to use as grants to | 10 |
| private day care centers to boost salaries, hire certified | 11 |
| teachers, buy supplies, and train staff on educational | 12 |
| techniques rather than expand preschool programs to reduce the | 13 |
| current waiting list;
and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, CPS continues to face a major budget deficit of | 15 |
| $328 million in fiscal year 2007; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, In an effort to reduce that deficit, CPS has | 17 |
| proposed cutting teaching positions, asking for another | 18 |
| property tax hike, and, even more significantly, asking the | 19 |
| General Assembly for a waiver so that CPS may forgo its $70 | 20 |
| million pension obligation to the Public School Teachers' | 21 |
| Pension and Retirement Fund of Chicago, a payment that will | 22 |
| only continue to grow in outlying fiscal years; therefore, be | 23 |
| it | 24 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 25 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 26 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we direct the Auditor General to | 27 |
| immediately conduct a management, performance, and financial | 28 |
| audit of the Chicago Board of Education to determine the | 29 |
| efficiency with which both State and local funds provided to | 30 |
| CPS are handled; and be it further | 31 |
| RESOLVED, That we urge full cooperation by Mayor Richard M. |
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| Daley and the Chicago Board of Education during the course of | 2 |
| the Auditor General's investigation; and be it further | 3 |
| RESOLVED, That the Auditor General, in his audit reports, | 4 |
| advise the General Assembly as to any areas of inefficiency and | 5 |
| mismanagement and the extent to which these would result in | 6 |
| cost savings to the school district and the State should they | 7 |
| be corrected; and be it further | 8 |
| RESOLVED, That the Auditor General, in his reports, should | 9 |
| advise the General Assembly and the Chicago Board of Education | 10 |
| on how to create more transparency in the school district's | 11 |
| budget and improve the overall accounting, reporting, and | 12 |
| budgeting systems of the school district; and be it further | 13 |
| RESOLVED, That the Auditor General's audit reports | 14 |
| concerning the Chicago Board of Education and CPS be submitted | 15 |
| to the General Assembly and the Governor; and be it further | 16 |
| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 17 |
| delivered to the Auditor General, the Legislative Audit | 18 |
| Commission, the Chicago Board of Education, Mayor Richard M. | 19 |
| Daley, and the State Board of Education.
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