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Governor Releases Capital Plan; School Consolidation Update

By David Wood posted 05-21-2019 08:17

  

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On Friday, Gov. JB Pritzker proposed his capital improvements plan that calls for spending $41.5 billion on transportation, education, public health and other infrastructure projects over six years, funded by doubling the state gasoline tax and increasing other taxes and fees. 

IASA joined a coalition, called "Build Up Illinois," that held a press conference last Tuesday where superintendents advocated school construction be included in a capital plan.

Under the governor's proposal, $3.511 billion, or 8 percent of the total, is for preK-12 schools. Of that amount, Pritzker wants $3 billion to go toward school construction, $400 million for school maintenance and $111 million for early childhood education.

As we expected, the program would rely on a local funding match. Of the $3.511 billion total, the state investment would be $1.8 billion.

If you haven't already discussed capital project needs with your local legislators now is the time to do so. Explain how conditions affect student learning and discuss what projects you would undertake.

You can find a list of Senators here and Representatives here. If you aren't sure who your local legislators are, this tool from the Illinois State Board of Elections will help you.

Those conversations will help educate your local legislators on how their support of a capital bill will help the communities they serve. 

We also want to share with you more details in Pritzker's "Rebuild Illinois" report about what type of projects the governor is eyeing to fund. From the report:

  • $1.5 billion from the School Construction Fund, matched by $1.5 billion in local funding, totaling $3 billion. This will allow for new School Construction Grants to stem the growth of deferred maintenance in education facilities and help meet programmatic needs of districts around the state. 

  • $200 million in pay-as-you-go funding is provided for School Maintenance Grants, a dollar for dollar matching grant program that provides up to $50,000 for the maintenance or upkeep of buildings for educational purposes, for a total of $400 million in total investments.

  • $100 million in Rebuild Illinois will go toward the needs of institutions that support the early learning experience of children across the state. The Early Childhood Grant Program, which requires a 10 percent match, allows CDB to assist early childhood centers with the renovation and expansion of their facilities.

The capital plan is another piece of the puzzle in what will be a hectic two weeks to close this spring session. We will be keeping a close eye on all of this and report back to you.

School Consolidation Update

At the urging of the Senate Government Accountability and Pensions Committee, State Sen. Tom Cullerton, D-Villa Park, met with stakeholders Friday to discuss HB 3053, another effort at school consolidation.

IASA was part of the meeting, and they are cautiously optimistic the legislation is off the table for this legislative session. 

Cullerton proposed creating a 20-person task force to identify, before May 1, 2020, no less than 25 percent of school districts in Illinois that will be required to hold a referendum to consolidate in the next general election.

The Alliance, Illinois Education Association, Illinois Federation of Teachers and Illinois State Board of Education were all opposed.

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,
Diane Hendren
Director of Governmental Relations
Illinois Association of School Administrators
&
David Wood
Governmental Relations Specialist
Illinois Association of School Business Officials
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