Schools and lawmakers are considering next steps now that more than 170 school districts in Illinois stand to lose additional money that was promised to them under the state’s new school funding formula.The landmark law passed last year with the intent to even the economic playing field for public schools across the state by providing more state dollars to the neediest districts.
There’s a snag in implementing a new tax credit for private school scholarships in Illinois. The sticking point is how the state’s new school funding law defines what is a private school.
Vermilion County, Illinois, school districts could ask the voters to approve a sales tax to fund school facilities.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has been taking a victory lap for the new school funding formula at schools across the state. Such visits can be a low-stakes way for the state’s top politicians to interact with their youngest constituents.
On the 21st: We discussed Illinois' school funding bill with two of its chief sponsors: Republican State Sen. Jason Barickman and Democratic State Sen. Kimberly Lightford. Plus, we spoke to the editor-in-chief of the online literary journal Jaggery and talked to two University of Illinois researchers about what their work studying baby pigs means for our understanding of the human microbiome.
