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"Today, we are taking a giant step
forward to improve our schools. This past January, I announced a
comprehensive plan to reform the education system in Illinois. I'm
not satisfied with the state of education in the state of Illinois.
We are not doing enough to help our local schools. And we are not
doing enough to protect the taxpayers' money and invest it in the
classroom, where it belongs. We need to make sure that the people
making these decisions are accountable to the taxpayers, to the
parents, to local schools and to the children they serve.
Accountability is the centerpiece of reform. Without accountability,
nothing changes, nothing improves and no one ever has to answer for
themselves. Today, I'm here with Senate President Jones and state
Sen. Miguel del Valle to propose legislation that will make the
State Board of Education accountable to the governor and to the
General Assembly in a way that it has never been before," the
governor said.
"The people of Illinois -- moreover,
the school children -- are extremely fortunate that the governor has
assumed full responsibility for the condition of public education in
the state of Illinois," said Assistant Senate Majority Leader Miguel
del Valle, who is the chair of the Senate Education Committee.
The new legislation calls for the State
Board of Education to remain the state's education agency, but the
board will undergo a radical transformation. The bill replaces all
nine current members of the board as of July 1, 2004, and members
will serve at the will of the governor. This allows the governor to
replace board members if they do not perform or achieve results. The
plan also reduces the contract of the state superintendent from
three years to a maximum of two years.
In addition, the legislation subjects
the state board to line-item budgeting for the first time. This
change allows the governor and legislature more control over the
board's financial management. Line-item budgeting would also allow
for the restructuring of the agency by eliminating unnecessary
divisions and creating new divisions to focus on areas such as early
childhood education.
"The governor has proven his commitment
on the issue of education reform. He came before the full Senate and
testified at the Committee of the Whole. He took our recommendations
and worked with us to provide this first real step toward reform,"
said Illinois Senate President Emil Jones.
Similar to what the governor outlined
during his State of the State address in January, the new
legislation would create cost-saving measures such as the creation
of shared service centers to allow school districts to pool their
resources to save on administration costs. The legislation also
would create a new purchasing program to allow local schools
districts access to statewide contracts where they might find lower
prices. In the area of school construction, local districts will
have the option of bringing in the Capital Development Board to
manage their projects at far lower costs.
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"We have now come to an agreement that
will allow us to continue to improve quality education for the
children of Illinois," said Assistant Senate Majority Leader Patrick
Welch, D-Peru, who is the sponsor of the school construction
legislation.
To assist local school districts with
their health care costs, the proposal authorizes districts to
participate in the state's prescription drug purchasing plan. It's
estimated the state's drug plan will be 8 percent cheaper than their
current drug plans.
The proposed changes are expected to
help schools save between $250 million and $450 million over four
years.
To address the 2,800 pages of rules and
regulations imposed on local school districts by the Illinois State
Board of Education, most of the recommendations from the School Code
Commission will be sent to the General Assembly for approval. The
process of rewriting the school code will reduce the number of
confusing and burdensome rules that school districts are subjected
to.
Gov. Blagojevich recognized members of
his task force studying education accountability, led by Dr. Michael
Bakalis, and thanked them for their recommendations on how to
streamline the education bureaucracy and make the system more
accountable to local districts.
"This plan paves the way for major
reform in the state's regulation of its schools. It has the
potential to make life easier for all of the nearly 900 school
districts in Illinois and help them help children learn better. This
plan gives us the chance to work together to fix what's broken," the
governor said.
Gov. Blagojevich thanked all the
members of the General Assembly who worked with him to bring real
education reform to Illinois, including Sen. del Valle and Senate
President Jones. The governor also acknowledged the hard-fought
efforts on behalf of education reform by Rep. Jay Hoffman,
D-Collinsville; Rep. Calvin Giles, D-Chicago; and Rep. Mike Smith,
D-Canton.
Gov. Blagojevich also thanked members
of the House Republican Caucus for their education ideas introduced
in House Bill 7301 and mentioned Rep. Jerry Mitchell, R-Rock Falls;
Rep. Renee Kosel, R-Mokena; Rep. Roger Eddy, R-Hutsonville; and
House Republican Leader Tom Cross, R-Plainfield.
As the General Assembly debates
education legislation, the governor said that real reform could not
have been accomplished without the support of the late state senator
from Carlinville, Vince Demuzio.
"I want to
make it clear that none of this could have happened without the
leadership, the strength and the stature of someone who is in my
thoughts and prayers, someone who cared more about education than
anyone I know, the original sponsor of our education reform plan --
Senator Vince Demuzio. This bill is a testament and a tribute to
him," the governor said.
[News release from the
governor's office]
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