My name is Susan Bertram and I am the Chief Financial Officer for West Aurora School District 129. We are a Large Unit District Association member with an enrollment of 10,000 students. I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to present my district's views on school finance and to thank our legislators for the various financial opportunities that they have made available over the past three years. The major items that District 129 has been able to take advantage of have been:

• The increase in general state aid 
• Full funding of categoricals 
• School construction grants 
• School maintenance grants, 
• and ADA Grant 

While this is not an exhaustive list of the changes in funding at the state level, it includes many of the major items that have benefited the students of our district. 

Because of the three year limit on House Bill 452, education funding in Illinois is again on the front burner. District 129, along with the Large Unit District Association believe that three themes need to be part of any new or revised funding program. These themes, and the points presented are a part of the LUDA Education and Finance Plan. 

One, that education policy in the state should be supported by a funding mechanism that is based on the expectation of a high quality education system linked to an accountability system that monitors student achievement. The framework for that system is the Illinois Standards for Learning. 

The second theme is that the current method of funding needs greater efficiency realized through a reduction in mandates and categorical funding. 

I believe that this efficiency can be achieved by refining the ISBE Adequacy Model to include various adjustments for regional cost differences, inflation indexes, and the weighting of various factors such as bilingual, poverty, alternative education and other instructional needs that would vary from district to district. The formula needs to use enrollment instead of attendance with the problem of absences being addressed by the accountability process since classroom space, supplies, books, et cetera, must be provided whether or not a student is in class on a particular day. The formula also needs to revert back to the prior formula's use of the greater of current year or the past three years average to protect those districts whose enrollments tend to decline or vary from year to year. 

To achieve greater efficiency, the funding plan should incorporate many of the current categorical programs that address instruction needs, excluding special education, into a single block grant similar to the present Chicago block grant plan. Again, appropriate student weightings should be used to assure adequacy. Categorical program accountability concerns should be addressed as part of the overall education accountability process, not through restrictions for each separate program. Because of the individual nature of special education needs, I believe that this should be a separate categorical program. 

In addition to the items just addressed, various non-instructional needs need to be addressed including transportation, food programs, technology and capital improvement and facility maintenance. A continued commitment to the construction program is critical. In addition, District 129 believes that the various bills that address Life, Safety; Capital Improvement and Operations need to be passed by the legislators in order to allow districts to renovate and maintain safe and productive school buildings to support a school's educational goals. 

The final theme is the need for a long-term commitment to an adequate foundation level for all students. A long-term commitment provides the financial stability necessary for planning. 

I would again like to thank you for the opportunity to appear and express my views.