Supporters of an education reform bill used a “silent protest” at the Illinois Statehouse this week to emphasize their concern about the state’s broken education funding formula. On March 1, representatives from Funding Illinois’ Future stood silently outside a meeting of the House Education Task Force in the Capitol. The protesters carried signs that demonstrated their disgust with the current formula, saying that it makes some school districts losers every year. “This year alone, proration and the education formula will cost us over one million dollars in our education fund,” said Mike Gauch, superintendent of the Harrisburg school district. “Things that our kids deserve, no matter what zip code they live in, we can’t provide.” One protester, Carrie Donnan of Taylorville, held a sign saying, “We are here because all schools matter,” because she believes that the current formula is only a bandage on the issues school districts face. Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, has pushed for a reform of the school funding formula for the past few legislative sessions, but Gov. Bruce Rauner has made his opposition clear, saying any reform that takes away money from one school district – wealthy or not – and gives it to another is a nonstarter.
This article appears in Mar 3-9, 2016.
