The Illinois State Board of Education asked lawmakers in the
Illinois House on Tuesday for more funding, particularly for school
transportation. Gov. Pat Quinn proposed to slash local school
budgets by more than $37.5 million for the next fiscal year. The
total earmarked for elementary, junior high and high schools still
tops $10.7 billion for the 2012 spending plan.
But the proposed cut to school bus budgets went too deep for
some.
Less money for buses may mean longer wait times and rides for
kids, especially for those in downstate, rural districts, said Rep.
David Reis, R-Olney.
"What good is it to have good-quality teachers, teaching
standards, the best books and the best schoolrooms, if you won't
even make a commitment to bus the kid to the school," said Reis, who
represents Jasper County, which has the geographically largest
school district in the state.
Some students in Reis' district ride the school bus for up to an
hour each way.
Reis said halving the state transportation budget for schools
could double the time students spend on buses.
Linda Mitchell, ISBE's chief financial officer, said it's
impossible to teach students if they aren't in schools.
"Our board contends that although dollars spent on buses and
gasoline are not necessarily dollars spent on textbooks, they are a
critical part of providing support to education in this state,"
Mitchell said.
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In the 2011 fiscal year, ISBE spent about $212,000 of its $11.2
million budget on providing free transportation for students who
live 1.5 miles or more away from their school.
State Rep. William Davis, D-East Hazel Crest, who heads the House
committee that will delegate funds for elementary and high school
education, said transportation funds might be targeted because they
aren't directly linked to federal funds the state draws in for other
mandatory programs.
"Transportation, unfortunately, is just one of those big chunks
of money that sits out there, where if we want to make some
reductions, we can, but will that really help us get to our magic
number? At the end of the day, I don't think so.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By MELISSA LEU]
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