Full Text of SR0431 98th General Assembly
SR0431 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois serves over 2,000,000 | 3 | | students in 862 school districts statewide; and
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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;
| 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;
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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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