Illinois State Board of Education Requests $10.9 Billion for Public Schools Amid Property Tax Debate

The Illinois State Board of Education presented a budget request of $10.9 billion to fund preK-12 public schools for the upcoming fiscal year, marking the 10th year of funding under the Evidence-Based Funding formula that lawmakers approved in 2017.

State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders and Illinois State Board of Education Chair Steven Isoye appeared before a House appropriations committee Tuesday to make the case for the request, saying the system designed to shift cost burden away from local property taxes is now paying dividends.

Stronger Student Outcomes

Isoye told the committee that graduation rates are at a 15-year high and that achievement gaps are narrowing. Student growth now exceeds pre-pandemic levels, and Illinois eighth graders outperform national averages in reading and math.

"Achievement gaps are narrowing. Student growth exceeds pre-pandemic levels and Illinois eighth graders now outperform national averages in reading and math," Isoye said.

The request includes $300 million in new spending for schools, plus $50 million for property tax relief grants for certain high-tax districts.

Net Increase Despite Transfer

Sanders said the $10.9 billion request represents a reduction of $278.5 million from this year, mainly because of the transfer of early childhood block grants to the new Department of Early Childhood. After accounting for that shift, he said the request represents a net $469.7 million increase for other areas of preK-12 education.

"We are very conscious of the state's tight fiscal environment, and so we prioritized the most crucial funding streams and those investments that will have the most direct impact on student success," Sanders said.

Evidence-Based Funding Progress

The upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1, will mark the 10th year of funding under the Evidence-Based Funding formula. That formula is intended to shift a greater share of the cost of funding public schools onto the state and away from local property taxes.

The plan called for adding at least $300 million in new state funding to public schools each year, plus an additional $50 million in property tax relief grants for certain high-tax districts.

Since enactment of the law in 2017, general revenue fund spending for public schools has grown from $8.2 billion in Fiscal Year 2018 to nearly $11.2 billion this year.

Isoye said that out of 851 school districts in the state, the number that are funded at or above 90% of their adequacy target has grown from 194 to 313.

An adequacy target is an estimate of how much it should cost to operate a school district, based on cost-related factors like student enrollment, poverty rates and the percentage of English language learners in the district.

Governor's Stance

The ISBE request is higher than Gov. JB Pritzker's proposed budget, which for the second straight year did not include funding for the property tax relief grants.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference in March, Pritzker said he was committed to addressing the inequities in property tax rates but did not believe the relief grants called for in the Evidence-Based Funding law were addressing the issue.

"We've got to figure, how do we do that better, and I don't think we have the answer quite yet," Pritzker said. "But it didn't seem appropriate for us to just throw the money into the program without having a better potential outcome."

Republican Questions

Republicans on the appropriations panel questioned why the increased spending under the Evidence-Based Funding system has not resulted in lower property taxes throughout the state.

"I'm just wondering, if they're 90% adequate, and we've got probably 25% of the schools in the state of Illinois that are at full financial adequacy, why aren't we seeing property taxes come down?" Rep. Blaine Wilhour, R-Beecher City, asked Sanders.

Sanders replied that they still do not have all school districts to 90% or greater adequacy. He said there are still many districts far away from 90% adequacy.

Mandated Spending Categories

Sanders also pointed to other mandated categories of spending, such as transportation, for which the state only pays a prorated portion of the total cost.

"So as costs increase for fuel, bus driver salaries, special education salaries — when the state's share is not made up, then it has to go someplace," Sanders said. "You don't pick that up through your Evidence-Based Funding formula, so you turn to your local property taxpayers."

Committee Action

The committee took no action on the budget request. The panel's ultimate recommendation for preK-12 school funding will be included in the final budget bill that lawmakers will vote on at the end of the legislative session, which is scheduled to conclude May 31.

Mandated Spending Increases

The ISBE request includes the full $350 million for Evidence-Based Funding and property tax relief grants, as well as increases in transportation and other mandated categories of spending that are not covered by the Evidence-Based Funding formula.

"Everything that's in the formula was based on research that had been done that shows what the appropriate ratios would be," Sanders said. "That led to better outcomes for kids and I think that's why you see this increase."

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Sources:

• https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/state-education-officials-present-10-9b-budget-request-to-fund-public-schools/
• https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_ba9fad10-c47e-47a9-9e09-9881e37bc3b2.html
• https://myjournalcourier.com/news/article/state-education-officials-present-10-9b-budget-22199882.php