Downstate School Districts Say State Budget Cuts Hurting Them, Too
CHICAGO (CBS) -- School superintendents from around Illinois are telling an Illinois House Education Task Force that Chicago Public School officials are not alone in saying that the state's current school funding practices are hurting poor children, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
Superintendent David Lett of the downstate Pana School District drove to Chicago Tuesday to say Governor Bruce Rauner's budget making across the board cuts in state aid hurt the districts that depend heavily on state funding a whole lot more.
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"Districts like mine where approximately 60 percent of our funding comes from state and federal sources have lost about $2.4 million on a $13 million budget," Lett said.
Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat, superintendent of Peoria School District 150, says the losses hit each year.
All the officials say change in distribution also should be accompanied by more revenue, whether it's from an income tax hike, a millionaires' tax or something else.
The spokesperson for the governor's office said the across-the-board cuts, or "pro-ration" were created under former Governor Pat Quinn, though Rauner is adhering to them.
