Local schools would receive full state funding for the first time in seven years and no school district would lose money under an education funding plan being cosponsored by State Sen. Neil Anderson (Rock Island).
Senate Bill 3434 would fully fund the General State Aid formula for the first time in seven years. State budgets have severely underfunded schools by prorating education funding, with some schools receiving as little as 87% of the state aid owed to them.
“The ongoing fiscal standoff must not be allowed to interfere with our children’s education. By passing an education budget now, we can give our school officials the ability to plan for next year,” Anderson said. “And it is important to note that this bill does not create winners and losers, nor does it take hundreds of millions of dollars from downstate and suburban schools and send them to a failing Chicago public school system.”
Senate Bill 3434 also ensures every school district will not lose money next school year, compared to what they received during their 2015-2016 school year. The hold-harmless provision helps school districts that will see a drop in enrollment by keeping their funding level.
The bill increases state funding for K-12 education by $227 million, increases funding for Early Childhood Education by $75 million, and adds $1.8 million for agriculture education.