By Cole Lauterbach/Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Democrats want to make the state’s popular private school scholarships contingent on fully funding all public schools, something they don’t typically do.
When Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a sweeping education funding reform bill into law last August, teachers’ unions criticized it for containing the private school scholarship program. Now, Democratic State Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant’s bill would shut the program down if the state didn’t meet what’s called a “minimum funding level” every August.
The new funding formula, passed in tandem with the Invest in Kids program, would require $350 million more from the state than was required last year. It would increase by another $350 million in the year after that.
“Public education should be the top priority,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “It is unacceptable that these tax credits are diverting resources away from the classroom.”
Any shortage deemed below minimum funding levels by Aug. 1 means the state cannot release the millions of dollars donated to the state’s private scholarship fund.
“We seem to have forgotten what compromise means,” said state Rep. Bob Pritchard, R-Hinkley and a principal negotiator in education reform talks. “You don’t get everything you want. You have to take some things that maybe you don’t want.”
State Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, called the effort to undo the scholarship portion of last year’s agreement a disservice to residents that want bipartisanship.
“Not even a year into that agreement, they’re already trying to undo the parts that they don’t agree with,” he said. “The public’s not well-served by this.”
Barickman maintained that he still would have voted for the bill had he known that Democrats would have moved a bill like Senate Bill 2236.
The legislation doesn’t specify what would happen to the donated funds should the minimum funding levels not be met.
The Invest in Kids private school scholarship plan has proven wildly popular. Upon making their portal available, officials with Empower Illinois, one of several groups responsible for deciding which students would receive the 50 to 100 percent tuition money, said their servers crashed. But not before more than 24,000 kids were signed up. As of Wednesday, the Illinois Department of Revenue has seen more than $45 million in pledged giving.
The program works by offering a 75 percent state tax credit to individuals or businesses donating to the program. That money is then distributed by Scholarship Granting Organizations, or SGO’s, who accept and approve applications. Students receive between 50 to 100 percent tuition aid to attend a private school. Special needs students are eligible for extra money.
Bertino-Tarrant’s bill will receive a Senate floor vote before being sent to the House for consideration.
