For parents like Shatriya Smith of Springfield, equitable
school funding for K-12 students is a must. As a result of budget cuts and a school
funding formula many call unfair, Smith’s daughter will have to repeat the
sixth grade.
“This has been a difficult year,” Smith said. “Last year, my
daughter was doing great in school. She knew the teachers and she knew that
they would be willing to help her, especially while having an individualized
educational plan for continuous support.”
After Smith’s daughter entered the sixth grade, the school
changed, and so did the level of support offered to her daughter.
Smith said that she has helped her daughter at home with
school assignments and has been involved with helping her daughter to attain
the support she needs to be successful.
“I just want the school to match my effort,” Smith said.
On May 23, the Faith Coalition for the Common Good, advocates
of state Sen. Andy Manar’s education bill, gathered across from Grant Middle
School in Springfield, urging Rep. Sarah Wojcicki Jimenez and Rep. Tim Butler,
both Republicans from Springfield, to sign on to the K-12 equitable funding
bill sponsored by Manar, a Democrat from Bunker Hill. Both Wojcicki Jimenez and
Butler were invited to the Faith Coalition press conference, but were not in
attendance.
Rep. Wojcicki Jimenez reached out to Illinois Times later on saying that Springfield District 186 is the only district under her jurisdiction that would gain from Manar’s bill.
“In regards to SB231, the majority of school districts that I represent in the 99th district will lose funding in the upcoming school year,” Jimenez said. “The superintendents that have reached out to me are not in favor of this particular bill, but I am committed to working with them and legislators in the General Assembly to help come up with solutions to best help the children in our schools.”
Smith explains that schools don’t have enough resources to
give students the attention they need to succeed in the future.
“I think that the funding formula that we have in our
schools does not make entrepreneurs; it makes a workforce for low-income
people,” said Smith.
Crystal Weitekamp, Springfield Education Association
president, said that budget cuts have contributed to an increase in classroom
sizes and limited resources available to teachers.
“Every year teachers are told to do more with less,”
WeiteKamp said. “We have three year olds that come to school significantly
behind, and as students get older, that gap only increases.”
“Many of our children are coming to school with significant
academic and behavior needs,” Weitekamp continued.
“Every student in this state is important,” said Susan Eby,
co-chair of the education taskforce for the Faith Coalition for the Common
Good. “Senate Bill 231 is a statewide
solution to a statewide problem.”
Contact Brittany Hilderbrand at intern@illinoistimes.com.
Illinois State Board of Education’s funding projections by
district for Manar’s SB231 as of 5/13/16: http://www.isbe.net/budget/excel/fy15-sb231-sam1-3-full-model.xlsx
Illinois State Board of Education’s funding projections by
district for Gov. Bruce Rauner’s education funding plan without proration: http://www.isbe.net/funding/html/gsa.htm#fy17
Updated with Rep. Sarah Wojciki Jimenez comments 5-25-16.
This article appears in May 19-25, 2016.
