Manar, Hoffman, Greenwood, Local Superintendents Speak Out Against Rauner’s Veto of School Funding Reform

BELLEVILLE, Ill. –State Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, and state Reps. Jay Hoffman, D-Belleville and LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis, joined local school superintendents and community leaders to discuss the devastating consequences that the governor’s veto of education funding reform would have on schools in the Metro-East.

“The governor’s amendatory veto doubles-down on the inequitable, unfair funding formula that has shortchanged downstate schools for years,” Hoffman said. “Under the governor’s proposal the wealthiest communities in the state continue to game the system while districts downstate lose even more resources. Senate Bill 1 fixes our broken system and provides $18 million in additional funds to Metro-East schools.”

“It is critically important that the funding formula we adopt will bring needed resources to our community now and moving forward,” Greenwood said. “This is a choice between a thoughtful, bipartisan plan backed by school leaders across the state, and a rushed together, irresponsible proposal from the governor that would massively hurt downstate districts and increase the burden on local taxpayers. We simply cannot allow personal politics to dictate the choices we make for the future of our children.”

Senate Bill 1, which creates an equitable school funding plan, would have fixed the state’s broken education funding system and ensured that every school in Illinois saw increased funding. Despite his agreement with 90 percent of the legislation, Gov. Rauner issued an amendatory veto of the legislation.

Manar noted that Rauner’s introduced changes to Senate Bill 1 would punish schools for enrollment declines, thwart local economic development efforts and bar school districts from claiming voter-approved tax cap adjustments. These provisions unfairly harm downstate Illinois’ least-funded schools the most, including many here in this region.

“We’re going to get this done one way or another for the students and educators of Illinois. They’re counting on us to get it right after 20 years of trying to work with a broken school funding formula,” Manar said. “The first step toward the end of this conversation begins Sunday in the state Senate.”