Legislative Alert

The continued poor economic times coupled with a new political reality has many state governments working hard to contain costs and better manage and utilize limited public funds. The need for better stewardship in this area has brought extreme reactions in some states such as Wisconsin, Indiana and New Jersey as they try to balance obligations with new economic times. In the state of Illinois, Governor Quinn has recently pushed for school consolidation as a way to help balance the budget. Since Illinois has well over 850 local school districts, it seems as this may be a worthwhile avenue to explore. The issue of school consolidation has been discussed and debated over the years and many districts have consolidated. Nevertheless, a recent report from the National Education Policy Center just published February 1, 2011 indicates that after a century of school consolidations across the country, most increased efficiencies have already been achieved and further consolidation efforts need to include a careful study of all factors impacting a potential consolidation. Current assumptions about the benefits of school consolidation are generally based on claims that are overly simplified. You can review this report at http://nepc.colorado.edu. The report is found under new publications on the left side of the homepage.

Consolidation in Illinois is generating a great deal of interest. What parents should know about the various consolidation plans is that not all proposed plans have a component of local input into decision making. Some of the plans call for the legislature to establish school boundaries and then absorb resources from existing district and establish a new district. Some plans have a more thoughtful multi-layer process to arrive at consolidation decisions. There are currently four separate consolidation bills in the General Assembly. They are: HB 268 (Rep. Franks), HB 1216 (Rep. Chapa LaVia), HB 1886 (Rep. Rita) and SB 1324 (Senator Schoenberg). You can read and follow these bills at the Illinois General Assembly website, www.ilga.gov. Should you have any concerns about these bills, for most of our area, our State Representative is Patricia Bellock and our Senator is Kurt Dillard. Their contact information is also available on the Illinois General Assembly website. They both appreciate receiving input from their constituents. Feel free to contact them to express any questions or concerns you may have.