By Greg Halbleib
SPRINGFIELD – State Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) is introducing an education funding proposal that he believes will draw support from both sides of the aisle.
Barickman said his proposal links data and best practices to the amount of funding each school district receives.
“If you use the data and best practices, what you’ll say is that we will lower class sizes, we will provide an opportunity for your low-income school districts and students to be lifted to another tier where they have a greater opportunity to receive an education that prepares them for the world-class environment that we expect them to compete in,” Barickman told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin and Patti Penn.
PODCAST: Listen here to Barickman’s interview with WJBC’s Scott Laughlin and Patti Penn.
Barickman said he’s received positive feedback from local school superintendents. He added that with his plan, taxpayers would have more confidence that politics would be removed from the process.
“By using this data, we have appropriately identified the needs that exist,” Barickman added, “and when you model it, what we’re seeing is that the money is getting to the districts most in need.”
He plans to introduce the measure during a committee hearing this evening in Springfield.
Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected].
