Fact Sheet: Illinois Education Funding & Recent Cuts

Division of Public Information, Illinois State Board of Education

On January 24, the Illinois State Board of Education submitted its Fiscal Year 2014 budget recommendation to Governor Pat Quinn and the General Assembly, calling for an $874 million increase in P-12 education funding over the previous year. This represents an appropriation that would, for the first time in three years, fully fund General State Aid to districts at the level set in state statute. ISBE’s recommendation comes after years of funding reductions, totaling nearly $1 billion, that have led to the loss of thousands of teachers and aides, increased class sizes, and meant cuts to music, art, sports, and many other educational programs and local school services.

Recent Funding Issues

In recent years, districts have received less funding from local tax revenue, due to the recession and consequent decline in assessed home values. Additionally, the state’s General Fund allocation for P-12 education has been cut by more than $861 million, or nearly 12 percent, since Fiscal Year 2009. More than a dozen line items have been reduced, and more than 30 line items have been totally eliminated.

Since FY2009, these cuts have included:

• · $320.9 million (7.0 percent) reduction in General State Aid (GSA), the most flexible fund to support district operations. For the past two years, funding shortfalls have forced district GSA receipts to be prorated below their claim amounts. Cuts to GSA impact education in many different ways. For example, statewide since 2009, at least 6,400 full time teacher and aide positions have been cut, often resulting in larger class sizes.
• · $133.7 million (39.4 percent) reduction in Transportation. To make do with reduced funding, some districts have cut bus services and implemented longer routes. Many more have cut back on field trips.
• · $80 million (21 percent) reduction in the Early Childhood Block Grant. Nineteen percent fewer children (roughly 18,000 3-5 year olds) will be served by ISBE-supported programs in FY13 than were served in FY09.
• · $12.3 million (16.2 percent) reduction in Bilingual Education. In contrast, the number of Limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in the state has increased from 6.3 percent in 2003 to 9.4 percent in 2012.
  

Illinois State Board of Education

Reductions include:

1. $320.1 million (7.0 percent) reduction in General State Aid

2. $133.7 million (39.4 percent) reduction in Transportation

3. $80.1 million (21.1 percent) reduction in Early Childhood

4. $12.3 million (16.2 percent) reduction in Bilingual Education

5. $12.0 million (64.7 percent) reduction in Alternative Learning/Regional Safe Schools

6. $12.0 million (45.6 percent) reduction in Illinois Free Lunch/Breakfast

7. $10.5 million (91.3 percent) reduction in National Board Certification

8. $8.1 million (40.2 percent) reduction in Truant Alternative and Optional Education Programs

9. $5.0 million (64.3 percent) reduction in District Consolidation

10. $3.5 million (87.5 percent) reduction in Arts and Foreign Language

11. $2.7 million (90.0 percent) reduction in Children’s Mental Health Partnership

12. $1.6 million (46.8 percent) reduction in Agriculture Education

13. $1.4 million (5.4 percent) reduction in ISBE Administration

14. $1.2 million (28.1 percent) reduction in State and District Tech Support

15. $1.1 million (68.0 percent) reduction in Advance Placement Classes

16. $0.7 million (33.0 percent) reduction in Materials for the Visually Impaired

17. $0.5 million (1.3 percent) reduction in Career and Technical Education

18. $0.4 million (33.0 percent) reduction in Blind and Dyslexic Education

19. $0.2 million (50.9 percent) reduction in Educator Investigations and Hearings

Eliminated Programs include:

1. Reading Improvement Block Grant ($76.1 million)

2. ADA Block Grant ($74.8 million)

3. Textbook Loan Program ($42.8 million)

4. Summer Bridges ($22.2 million)

5. Transitional Assistance ($19.2 million)

6. Teacher and Administrator Mentoring ($14.0 million)

7. Transportation Reimbursements ($11.9 million)

8. After School Programs ($9.7 million)

9. Class Size Reduction Pilot ($8.0 million)

10. Fast Growth Grants ($7.5 million)

11. Gifted Education ($7.0 million)

12. Jobs for IL Graduates ($4.0 million)

13. Re-Enrolling Students ($4.0 million)

14. Targeted Interventions ($4.0 million)

15. Rural Technology Initiative ($4.0 million)

16. Charter Schools – Transition Impact Aid ($3.4 million)

17. Statewide System of Support ($3.3 million)

18. Principal Mentoring ($3.1 million)

19. Growth Model ($3.0 million)

20. Healthy Kids Chicago ($3.0 million)

21. Hard to Staff Schools Incentives ($3.0 million)

22. Homeless Education ($3.0 million)

23. Response to Intervention ($2.0 million)

24. Healthy Kids Cicero & Berwyn ($1.0 million)

25. Chicago Principals and Admins Association ($1.0 million)

26. Aerospace Education Initiative ($0.9 million)

27. School Breakfast Incentive Program ($0.7 million)

28. Minority Transition Programs ($0.6 million)

29. Illinois Economic Education ($0.3 million)

30. Adler Planetarium ($0.2 million)

31. Museum of Science and Industry ($0.2 million)

32. Metro East Consortium for Child Advocacy ($0.2 million)

33. Temporary Relocation Expense Fund ($0.1 million)

34. Teacher of the Year ($0.1 million)

35. IL Governmental Internships ($0.1 million)

36. Parental Participation Pilot ($0.1 million)