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"The school construction grant process is not something that
magically happens -- there is a process and a list of rules and
guidelines in place that quite frankly has been a major factor for
the program's success," Bomke said. "The reason these guidelines
exist in the first place is to make sure that the allocation of
these grants do not become spur-of-the-moment, political decisions.
It is truly a nonpartisan process, and it should remain that way. I
have nothing against the Carterville community, but they should go
through the proper channels just like every school district that is
already on that list." At a Capitol press conference on Friday,
superintendents and lawmakers said the governor's announcement to
provide immediate funding to a school not even on the approved
construction grant list is a slap in the face to students and
parents in their districts still waiting for desperately needed
funding promised in fiscal 2002.
"Rochester schools in my district are at the top of the list to
receive state construction assistance and were placed there by the
State Board of Education and the Capital Development Board because
their need was deemed to be the greatest," said state Rep. Rich
Brauer, R-Petersburg. "They have been waiting at the top of the list
for their promised funding since the fiscal year 2002 budget was put
together in 2001. For the governor to ignore Rochester and the other
districts on the approved list to pledge funding elsewhere is an
outrage."
"We all have emergencies. There are no other emergencies greater
than ours," stressed Winfield District 34 Superintendent Diane Cody.
"We have waited for four years to receive funding. We need our
emergencies taken care of now. We are asking the state to honor its
existing obligations before any new programs are created and funded.
It is time that Capital Development Board funding once again is
bipartisan and the children in our school districts are given what
they deserve."
Lawmakers said school districts must apply for the school
construction grant program. School districts must then undergo a
lengthy process through the State Board of Education and the Capital
Development Board to be accepted into the program and are ranked
based upon need.
State Rep. Roger Eddy, R-Hutsonville, said 23 school districts,
including Stewardson-Strasburg Community Unit District 5A in his
House district, have been approved and waiting years for their
funding.
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 "Some of these districts have had to put crucial construction
projects on hold," Eddy said. "Others have had to front money to get
their projects completed and have been left holding the bag, waiting
years for promised reimbursement from the state. This week, a
newspaper in Marion reported that the governor said, 'I am throwing
the priority list out the window. We are going to make our own
list.' Where does that leave the 23 districts on the current list?
The governor is breaking a promise made to parents and
schoolchildren across the state."
"The Stewardson-Strasburg community worked very hard to pass the
referendum for the local share of the funding needed for our
project, and that referendum will expire in March of 2007," said
Stewardson-Strasburg Superintendent Ruth Schneider. "So, we are
dealing with an aging, dilapidated facility, and we have been on
hold for nearly five years now. If our promised funding doesn't come
through, we are going to be back to square one."
"Having completed our construction project in 2004, we have had
to borrow the money that we had hoped to receive through our
promised state grant," added Hinckley-Big Rock District 426
Superintendent Glen Littlefield. "The state of Illinois and the
state board of education need to live up to their commitment to
assist local districts in providing adequate, safe, child-friendly
educational facilities for our students."
"This is another example of Governor Blagojevich traveling the
state and unilaterally deciding where our taxpayer dollars should be
spent," Eddy said. "He has shown no regard for programs already in
place, promises already made or local elected officials who need to
be involved in the process. The state has an obligation to the 23
districts on the approved construction grant list and to the local
taxpayers who agreed to pass referenda with the promise that the
state would help with construction costs."
State Sen. Dale Righter echoed Eddy's sentiments: "When the
legislature was presented with a capital spending bill last spring,
several promises were made and votes were subsequently cast, based
on the notion that these 23 schools would be -- in the order as they
appear on the list -- taken care of. Now, Governor Blagojevich is
breaking his own promises, discarding a list that his own State
Board of Education has stood by and by which school districts have
relied on for years."
[News release from
Illinois
Senate Republicans] |
