Will Chicago schools stay open longer than a semester?

As the summer heat intensifies, and then fades, the school yard bell begins to toll, and the back to school signs appear in nearly every retail outlet from the big box stores to the drugstore, it’s almost that time for the school buses to start to roll down city streets. But, for Illinois, especially Chicago, there is a wariness that there may not be enough money to sustain classes beyond a semester.

In the ensuing days, the political strains between Republican Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, and the Democratic majority have led to a much needed reformulated school funding bill, to move away fromt the strict revenue stream from real estate taxes that give the per pupil dollar, to one that is more equitable and evidence based. That bill SB1 proposed by State Sen. Andy Manar, was recently given an amendatory veto by the governor.

With cuts that would take nearly $463 million from Chicago schools and giving it to statewide school districts, Rauner called these cuts necessary to avoid a “bailout” for Chicago schools, much to the ire of Chicago Public School officials.

But others are opposed, “because it would receive a $500 million adjustment to its local contribution for legacy pensions on top of credits for both its existing pension payments and state block grants.”  

Statewide accepting the Rauner plan affects its 923 school districts, with 31 gaining funds, and the loss of a state grant, to Chicago, of $250 million, that has been received for the last twenty years.

One sticking point is that any money awarded to a student, under the governor’s plan, would be lost if the student transfers, with the money travelling with him.

Part of this donnybrook, as some observers have noted, is a payback, from Rauner, for having his budget veto overridden, last month, which gave the state a budget after an absence of nearly two years.

The Chicago public school system is the fourth largest in the nation, with an overwhelmingly dominance by racial minorities: 47 percent Hispanic and 38 percent, African American, that some of the governor’s critics, are suggesting is his way of neglecting these students.

Philosophically, the lack of political will for these children makes it more galling for social progressives, but also shows that race and economic class are holding sway, making the effects even more debilitating as the erosion of social capital continues; especially for a state that wants to be business friendly, and for a city, whose mayor touts it as a first class city.

Long in need of a school funding formula that was equitable, Manar’s bill seemed to fit the bill, more than in previous attempts.  “It's a sizable change that everyone in state knows needs to happen,” he said, and ,“It will over time fix inequity, drive resources to districts that are furthest away from where they ought to be, and treat all districts the same.”

The skinny: “It begins by taking into account a district’s local funding capacity and the amount of funding it already receives from the state as a baseline and adds from there over time,” reported local PBS station WTTW.

“Those targets are calculated by taking into account a given district’s “essential elements” – such as the costs for professional development, class size ratios, technology and about two dozen other items – and their cost of implementation based on demographic differences, along with staff salaries based on regional variation.”

“What this does, is it literally generates the resources you need to educate the population you serve,” Center for Tax and Budget Accountability Executive Director Ralph Martire said. “No other funding formula does that.”

And, for new appropriations and grants, “Any new state contributions would go first to districts that are furthest from their adequacy targets and SB1 promises that no school district will see a decrease in funding. It ranks districts on a four-tier scale and uses current funding amounts as a baseline starting point before adding new state dollars to those levels going forward.”

A study by a local advocacy group says that 85 percent of monies would go to primarily low income districts, and “new dollars would be phased in over the next decade.”

After Rauner’s amendatory veto, it was overridden in the Senate within a comfortable three-fifths margin, and then it went to the House, where it is expected to have a much harder time, with 71 votes needed, but won’t pass without the help of Republicans.

On Wednesday, the House offered a trial-balloon of sorts with a procedural bill that incorporated Rauner’s changes, and which sunk like a stone at the bottom of the Chicago River.

Adding to the mix, or some might say desperation, is that school chief Forrest Claypool, recently announced that there was an additional need of $269 million to keep the schools open, and one that he wants the city to pay. Where the cash-strapped city will get the money is puzzling. Borrowing is one option, but the city has already borrowed tons before, and is on the hook for high interest payments.

With all eyes on a Friday meeting it is expected that the House will provide the expected override, after its earlier procedural votes; albeit with what Speaker of the House Michael Madigan termed, “reasonable Republicans.”