The Illinois Senate Education Funding Advisory Committee proposed a bill called Senate Bill 16 this summer. If enacted into law, Senate Bill 16, or SB16, would dramatically reduce state funding to District 58 by redistributing state aid to districts in other parts of Illinois.

Generally, school districts with higher assessed property values like ours would receive much less state funding.  All but one school district in DuPage County stands to lose a combined $140 million.

SB16 is modeled after an effort in Massachusetts. Their General Assembly provided $1 billion in new money. There is no new money in SB16. This legislation is a redistribution of current resources.

The state of Illinois ranks 50th in the nation in education funding. For the past three years, the state has underfunded all school districts by 11 percent.

What is SB16's financial impact on District 58?

It's significant.

If enacted, District 58 would lose 73 percent of its state funding or more than $2 million per year. District 99 would lose 77 percent of its state funding or more than $3 million per year. This would greatly affect the District's ability to provide a quality education to our students and may require us to reduce programs and services.   
 

See the impact on all DuPage County school districts. 

See the impact across the State of Illinois.

If SB16 is enacted into law, will property taxes be raised?

District 58 cannot raise additional taxes without a referendum. District 58 has not passed an education fund referendum since 1951.  

The district's levy does increase annually, but only by a factor of inflation and any new growth in the district.

Then, if SB becomes law, how would District 58 make up lost funding?

 
District 58 would have to cut $2.1 million from its existing budget to keep a structurally balanced budget.

 Balancing the budget and any possible reductions would likely be part of the budget planning process for the upcoming school year. The Board of Education's Financial Workshop takes place Monday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Longfellow Center, 1435 Prairie Ave.  

 Another alternative would be to request a tax increase through a referendum. District 58 has not passed an education fund referendum since 1951. The last attempt at a referendum in 2007 failed. 

Additional resources

• Illinois State Board of Education
• Full text of SB16

Does your child take the bus? Good news! According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, riding the bus to school is safer than riding in a 

a passenger vehicle.
 

To ensure our children continue to travel to school safely, it's our job as drivers to drive cautiously and follow the rules of the road. Some rules aren't what you might think!

The basics.

• School buses use yellow flashing lights to alert drivers that they are stopping. They use red flashing lights and an extended stop sign to show that the bus is stopped and children are getting on or off.

• Vehicles should stop at least 20 feet before reaching a stopped school bus to allow children to enter or exit the bus safely.

• State law requires all school buses to stop at railroad crossing, whether or not students are on board. The bus driver will pull to the right-hand lane, display hazard warning lights, stop the bus, open the driver window and door, look and listen for an approaching train, and then proceed across the tracks. Please be patient when driving behind a school bus!

When do you stop for a bus?
 

• It is always illegal to pass a school bus on the right.

• When a school bus travels on a two-lane roadway and stops to pick up or drop off children, vehicles in all lanes of traffic must stop.

• When a school bus travels on a four-lane roadway with at least two lanes of traffic traveling in the opposite direction, only lanes of traffic traveling in the same direction of the school bus must stop. Students are not required to cross four or more lanes of traffic to reach their residence.

• When a school bus travels on a one-way roadway and stops to pick up or drop off children, all lanes of traffic must stop, regardless of the number of lanes.

Be sure to follow these rules; it's the law! Violating the law can lead to citation, fine and loss of license.

Thank you for helping to protect our children.

 Learn more bus safety information at http://www.isbe.net/funding/html/bus_safety.htm.   

Images provided by the Illinois State Board of Education.