District 230, Partner Districts Organize Against School Funding Reform Act

—Provided by District 230

Consolidated High School District 230 stands to lose either $412,000 or $2.4 million in state funding under the newly proposed Senate Bill 1 School Funding Reform Act, according to figures released late Friday by the Illinois State Board of Education. The amount lost is directly dependent on a proposed infusion of either $500 million or $92 million, respectively, in new funds to support Senate Bill 1.

Senate Bill 1 takes the place of Senate Bill 16 from the previous legislative session which was widely discussed at two town hall meetings held by District 230 and its partner districts including 117, 118, 127, 135, 140 and 146 this past fall. The District 230 School Board also coordinated a call to action for community members to contact elected officials. Materials from these efforts can be found on the District website.

In addition, Superintendent Dr. James M. Gay testified at a joint legislative hearing in the fall. Gay and School Board Vice President Patrick O’Sullivan had private meetings with the sponsor of the school funding reform bill Senator Andy Manar, House Minority Leader Representative Jim Durkin and Senator Bill Cunningham last month in Springfield.

“Our joint efforts with our partner districts to inform legislators and educate the community about the devastating impact of this legislation were successful” said School Board President Rick Nogal. “We, along with our partner elementary districts and advocates across the state, stopped Senate Bill 16 and forced Springfield to go back to the drawing board.”

“Our efforts reduced District 230’s proposed funding loss from $7 million to either $412,000 or $2.4 million depending on the amount of new funding allocated for Senate Bill 1.” Nogal said. “We are grateful that the General Assembly has responded to some of our concerns and reduced the impact on District 230,” Nogal said. “The flaw is that it assumes an additional $500 million in funding for public education in a state that is still last in state funding.”

The newly proposed Senate Bill 1, however, still has a significant negative impact on the majority of District 230’s partner school districts.

“Our work to protect the best interest of our community is far from over,” said Nogal. “The success of our partner schools is vital to District 230. We will continue to work collaboratively with our partner districts to fight for our community.”

Nogal and Gay have worked closely with Senator Cunningham to hold a community meeting in District 230 with the sponsor of the bill. Due to a scheduling conflict for the senators, the original meeting set for April 1 is being rescheduled. Once a new date is established, it will be communicated with the community.

District 230 and its partner school districts continue to work collaboratively to protect the best interest of the local community. As the legislative process unfolds, the school board and administration will continue to advocate for fair school funding reform.

District 230 is holding a working group meeting with school board and administrative representatives of Districts 117, 118, 127, 135, 140 and 146 on April 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the District 230 Administration Center (15100 S. 94th Avenue, Orland Park) to analyze Senate Bill 1 and to formulate recommendations for changes. The public is welcome to observe the work of the representatives at this meeting.

“District 230 remains vigilant in being informed about the newly proposed legislation, in assuring our students’ best interests are represented in future discussions, and in keeping the community informed and involved,” said Nogal. “You can be assured that our school board and administration will remain on top of this important legislation and will continue to assure that District 230’s voice is heard.”