Two buzzwords you hear a lot in any discussion of school funding are adequacy and equity. Adequacy is the notion of having enough money, like Governor Bruce Rauner has offered in his proposal to increase funding. Equity is the notion of giving every district its fair share, like another measure pending in the Senate aims to do.
That bill would shift some funding for public schools from wealthy suburban districts to those with lower property values and more children living in poverty. The goal of the measure is to fix the state's school funding formula, which has been called the most inequitable in the nation.
While the State Board of Education is still crunching the numbers to see which districts would gain or lose funds, a group of downstate lawmakers today said they were "staking out turf" in favor of equitable funding. The lawmakers themselves declined to endorse any specific plan, but Harrisburg school superintendent Michael Gauch spoke out in favor of the new funding formula.
"I truly think it's beyond worrying about winners and losers at this point, because this is the only bill, in my opinion, that has said we're going to change what's broken and direct the money where it needs to go,” Gauch says. “If I win on that -- great. If I lose on that, I still think it's the right way things should be figured in the state."
Rep. Brandon Phelps, a Democrat from Harrisburg, prioritizes equity.
"How can anybody argue that a child is worth more up north than it is down south?” Phelps asked. “I just don't get that. It doesn't make a lick of sense."
Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed a plan that would increase funding under the current formula, and Speaker of the House Mike Madigan has offered a constitutional amendment that c?ould shift the funding question to the courts.
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