 "After the buses are in the garage and the students are home for the
summer, how's a school district supposed to make a cut?" asked state
Rep. Roger Eddy, R-Hutsonville, and Hutsonville School District
superintendent. "Those expenses have been incurred. There is no way
that we can do that. This is the most ridiculous proposal I've ever
heard."As part of the 2009 stimulus plan, the federal government
offered states more Medicaid money if they didn't decrease Medicaid
eligibility and followed certain guidelines. Illinois receives 60
cents from the federal government for every dollar it spends, but
that will drop to the pre-stimulus amount of 50 cents for every
dollar spent starting next month. So far, the state has received
$3.6 billion from the federal government's stimulus plan.
"We have to manage our resources right now in order to get that
match. That's worth maybe $100 (million) to $200 million to our
state," Quinn said at a news conference earlier this month. "I have
to do everything necessary to get the most money that we can."
Quinn said he is using school transportation funding because the
school districts have flexibility in how they spend their general
state aid, or GSA. Schools can dip into their GSA to cover the lack
of bus money over the summer and fall months, Quinn's office said,
until they are reimbursed for their transportation outlays.
Quinn's office plans to pay the districts the $52 million by
December for expenses incurred during the fourth quarter, which ends
June 30.
For the East Moline School District, Quinn's actions translate
into $75,000 held back for the fourth quarter.
"Ultimately it comes down to how is it going to affect student
achievement and learning?" asked Kristin Humphries, East Moline
School District superintendent. "When you take away money from
something like transportation, we have to find the money somewhere."
Like many other school districts, East Moline is using its
reserves to cover its expenses until the state pays its bills.
"A year from now we can't do that," Humphries said. The district
may need to increase classroom sizes and trim back programs for
students in order to deal with the financial crunch, he added.
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Humphries is also the business manager for the school district, a
position normally shouldered by two people, in an effort to save
money in a district cut down to the bone. He says the district
recently spent roughly $4,000 to replace the transmission on a bus
worth only $10,000. Normally that bus would have been traded in and
a new one bought in its place, he said, but the money isn't there
for it right now.
His district still hasn't received transportation payments for
the second and third quarters of this fiscal year.
Delayed or diverted transportation reimbursements intended for
the school districts are part of the $1 billion in old bills dating
to December 2010.
Chris Norman, director of financial services for the Alton School
District, said knowing his district eventually will receive the
money takes some of the sting out of the news.
"It's one thing when things happen and we have plenty of notice
and there is something we can do about it," Norman said. "But when
you're past the point of where you can plan for that, that's where
the difficulty comes from."
Because of cuts to his proposed budget, especially in education,
Quinn derided the budget the Legislature sent him in May
Paying for school buses hasn't been a priority for Quinn. He
initially proposed cutting transportation funding for the next
school year in half, or by $92 million. After outcries from schools
and legislators, that idea died.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By ANDREW THOMASON] |
