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Governor threatening school project funding Gov.
Blagojevich is at it again -- ignoring established laws and programs
and, in the process, jeopardizing construction funding for school
districts that have waited years for grants promised to them.
At a Capitol press conference Sept. 8, superintendents and
Republican lawmakers said the governor's promise last week to
provide immediate funding to Carterville High School, which is not
on the approved construction grant list, is a slap in the face to
students and parents in school districts still waiting for
construction funding promised in fiscal 2002.
The school construction grant process is guided by a list of
rules and guidelines established by law to ensure that the
allocation of these grants does not become subject to political
influence. School districts must first apply to the grant program,
then undergo a lengthy approval process through the State Board of
Education and the Capital Development Board, and finally are ranked
based upon the greatest need.
Despite school districts relying on this process for years,
Blagojevich announced to a crowd of spectators in Carterville last
week, "I am throwing the priority list out the window. We are going
to make our own list" -- thus unilaterally deciding where taxpayer
dollars should be spent and breaking his own promises to uphold
existing funding obligations.
[to top of second column]
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 Governor's cuts to higher education affect affordability
The Arlington Heights Daily Herald reported this week that
Illinois' higher education system received an F in college
affordability. The National Center of Public Policy and Higher
Education placed Illinois among 43 states receiving a failing grade.
The report concluded that Illinois families are paying a larger
share of their household income for community college and public and
private four-year universities. It states, "The percentage of family
income needed to cover expenses at a four-year public university
here has increased from 25 percent to 35 percent in recent years."
The policy group bluntly concludes that "the state does not offer
low-priced college opportunities."
According to the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the bill for
tuition and fees at Illinois' private universities rose 72 percent
in the past decade, from $12,145 to $20,907 this year, while tuition
and fees for Illinois' public universities climbed from $3,438 in
1996 to $6,874 in 2006.
A major factor in rising higher education costs is the state's
failure to adequately support higher education, a trend Senate
Republicans have fought since Blagojevich began cutting higher
education funding, beginning in fiscal 2003.
[Column from
Sen. Bill Brady] |
