Part of the Metro Community Project, a three-school exchange between New Trier HS, Kelvyn Park HS, and Richard T. Crane Medical Preparatory Academy. How are schools funded in the State of Illinois? What role does the federal government, state government, and local property taxes play in how public schools deliver a "high quality" education?

1. How are Illinois schools funded?
Metro Community Project
March 2015

2. School Spending
per student, per year
New Trier
Township H.S.
$21,372
CPS
high schools
$13,791

3. Illinois State Constitution
• A fundamental goal of the People of the State is
the educational development of all persons to the
limits of their capacities.
• The State shall provide for an efficient system of
high quality public educational institutions and
services.
• The State has the primary responsibility for
financing the system of public education.

7. Courses /
Academic Programs /
Extracurriculars
What do the differences in school funding mean?

13. Strong Teaching /
Leadership /
Support Staff /
Services
What do the differences in school funding mean?

14. What do the differences in school funding mean?
School facilities:
Physical environment /
Type and design
of facilities

15. What do the differences in school funding mean?
Technology /
Instructional materials

16. Where does the money come from?

17. So how do we end up with these
extreme differences in school funding?
Property Taxes

20. Winnetka
● Higher property values
● More $ raised through
school property taxes.
Logan Square
● Lower property values
● Less $ raised through
school property taxes.

21. Lower-income areas often have
higher school property tax rates,
but less school funding.
New Trier
H.S. District
1.67%
school
tax rate
/ $100
Chicago
Public Schools
2.58%
school
tax rate
/ $100

22. Illinois Ranks Near the Bottom
(47th place) in STATE Contribution
to K-12 Public Education Funding

23. • Illinois sets a “foundation level” for
school funding.
• The state guarantees that a school’s
funds will not fall below this level…
Guess how much it is?

24. $6,119
Remember that New Trier spends
over $21,000 per student per year

25. What could fix disparities in school funding?
Some ideas…
• Raise the state’s foundation level for
school funding
• Make school funding less reliant on
property taxes
• Implement a progressive state income tax
• Implement a “needs-based” funding
system

26. Who could fix disparities in school funding?

27. Who could fix disparities in school funding?
The State Legislature

28. Illinois State Constitution
• A fundamental goal of the People of the State is
the educational development of all persons to the
limits of their capacities.
• The State shall provide for an efficient system of
high quality public educational institutions and
services.
• The State has the primary responsibility for
financing the system of public education.

30. SB001: School Funding Reform Act 2015
Extra weights for educating students
with greater needs:
More money per student:
• English learners 20% more
• Low-income students 25%-75% more
• Students with disabilities 100% more
• Transportation 6-10% more

31. SB001: School Funding Reform Act 2015
Adjusts for a local community’s
ability to pay extra for their schools
• Communities that can afford extra
resources receive less state funding
• Communities that can’t afford extra
resources receive more state funding

32. SB001: School Funding Reform Act 2015
Requires reporting
of school-level budgets
• Currently only district budgets are included
• Under the new bill, we would be able to
know how much each each school within a
district gets

33. SB001: School Funding Reform Act 2015
The weights for poverty
are not high enough
• Offers more money for low-income
students but…not enough to overcome
obstacles and raise student achievement
• For high-poverty communities, the funding
should be 159% more

34. SB001: School Funding Reform Act 2015
No additional state money for education
• Illinois ranks 47 out of 50 in the portion of
education funded by the state
• Estimated $5 billion short in adequate
education funding
• SB1 does nothing to address this shortfall

35. What we can do
to influence the debate
• Create a “student-based” funding bill
based on actual student needs
• Design and advocate for an Illinois
“Student Bill of Rights”