Bob Daiber, president of the Illinois Association of Regional
Superintendents of Schools, said Friday that the 44 regional
superintendents will fulfill their duties, which include inspecting
schools, checking employee backgrounds and certifying teachers.
The group met Thursday with Quinn's staff about how to pay regional
superintendents and their assistants, said Daiber, who is Madison
County regional superintendent of schools.
The governor's budget director, David Vaught, was at the meeting and
discussed how superintendents could be paid from the "personal
property replacement tax," which corporations and business
partnerships pay instead of local property taxes, Daiber said.
State government collects the money as an income tax and sends it to
schools, cities, counties and other local governments. Since that
solution would require legislative action, it won't be decided until
October, at the earliest, when lawmakers return to Springfield.
The governor's staff and the regional superintendents will look for
alternative sources of funding until then, Daiber said.
Quinn announced last week that he was cutting $9.1 million that
would have provided salaries for the regional superintendents and
their assistants, along with $2.2 million from their operations
budget. The Democratic governor had suggested the same cut in March
when he presented his budget proposal, but lawmakers rejected the
idea. Quinn continues to support paying the superintendents
"from local
sources" and wants lawmakers to address the issue in October, said
Brooke Anderson, a Quinn spokeswoman. "In the meantime, we
are continuing to work with representatives for the (regional
education offices) to determine whether there are alternative
sources of funding that can be accessed in the interim," Anderson
said.
"In the meantime, we are continuing to work with representatives for
the (regional education offices) to determine whether there are
alternative sources of funding that can be accessed in the interim,"
Anderson said.
[Associated Press;
By CHRISTOPHER WILLS]
Christopher Wills can be reached at
http://twitter.com/ChrisBWills.
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