“The current school funding formula is archaic and in need of an overhaul”.
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While leaders of the Democrat-controlled legislature have agreed to name their share of task force members, Rauner said reaching a solution will not be easy. In addition, Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Chairman Rev. James Meeks will serve as a liaison between ISBE and the Commission. Rauner’s appointees are Beth Purvis, Secretary of Education; Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti; James Dimas, Secretary of the Department of Human Services; Jennifer Hammer, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy; and Jodi Scott, Regional Superintendent of Schools for Henderson, Knox, Mercer and Warren counties. Jason Barickman, Democratic House Leader Barbara Flynn Currie and Democratic state Sen.
“As we all know over the last number of years, our schools have had to suffer through proration – another way of saying our schools were cut and their spending was cut”, said Purvis.
“They are always well-intended”, she said of such commissions.
The Governor’s office says that way the General Assembly can take action during that general session. But that could mean raising revenue to pay for school funding, and Rauner said he would consider a tax hike only if it’s linked to his turnaround agenda reforms. “It’s a nightmare, and it makes disadvantaged businesses even more disadvantaged, because if you’re not sophisticated, if you’re not big, if you don’t have a big bureaucracy, going through that maze, it’s hard”, he said.
“Once you change that formula, you’ll have winners, school districts that get more”.
Rauner wouldn’t get into the specifics on the type of recommendations he believes the commission should pursue, but said all options should be on the table.
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Bruce Rauner is taking steps to ensure more minority and women-owned businesses receive state contracts.
