Education Funding and Reform - Senate Bill 16

Dear District 41 Community,
 

Illinois is considering a change in the way education is funded in the state. The Illinois Senate Education Funding Advisory Committee was tasked with recommending ways to improve public education funding in Illinois, which has remained unchanged since 1997. The outcome was Senate Bill 16 (SB16). This law will not add new revenue to education; rather, it "fixes" the problem by reallocating state funds from districts that have higher property value and allocating it to other districts based on a formula.
 

The bill, as written, would reduce the annual revenue that Glen Ellyn School District 41 receives from the State of Illinois by $1.9 million in the fourth year of implementation of the law, a 79% reduction. District 41 would continue to lose approximately $1.9 million every year after the full implementation of the law.
 

I agree that Illinois' education funding model requires improvement, and it is true that there are districts that are suffering from a lack of funding. District 41 supports providing these districts the additional funding they need to educate every child across the state; however, SB16 as written would force many districts across the state to make cuts to programs and people, including ours.
 

It is expected that SB16 will be discussed and possibly voted on by the House as early as November. For more information and to learn how you can help, CLICK HERE.

Thank you for your attention to this important topic. We will keep the district community informed as we learn more.

Dr. Paul Gordon

Superintendent