Hernandez Highlights Importance of Unity to Work on Fixing School Funding Inequities at Berwyn Town Hall

BERWYN, Ill. – On Wednesday, state Rep. Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez, D-Cicero, member of the Latino Caucus, spoke with parents, students and faculty of Berwyn School Districts 98 and 100 at a “Fix the Formula” Town Hall.

“Illinois has the most inequitable funding system in the nation, with only 81 cents spent on low-income students for every dollar spent on non-low-income students,” Hernandez said. “I commend Superintendents Carmen Ayala and Mary Havis for coming together and setting up this town to hall to inform the community about our state’s broken funding system.”

Hernandez spoke to the two Berwyn school districts about House Bill 2808, which would replace the current K-12 education funding formula with one that would direct funding toward school districts that need it most. This effort would eliminate the achievement gap, and ensure the state takes on the role of being the primary financier of K-12 education. The formula Illinois currently uses relies mostly on property taxes, which results in schools that are in districts with high property values being far better funded than schools in areas with working-class households, low-cost rentals or farmland.

“We need a responsible budget that properly funds all of our state’s schools, which is why I have been heavily involved in the budget negotiations,” Hernandez said. “We need to focus our attention on closing the disparities between school districts because a child’s ZIP code should not determine the sort of education they receive.”