Sherry R. Eagle, Superintendent of Aurora School District #129

LUDA Summary

LUDA Education & Finance Plan

Good afternoon, Chairman Leininger and members of the Education Funding Advisory Board. 

My name is Sherry Eagle and I am superintendent of schools for school district 129, serving Aurora, North Aurora and Montgomery, Illinois. 

Today, I am speaking to you on behalf of the fifty-four superintendents of LUDA (large unit district association), whose districts serve over fifty percent of the public school children in Illinois; downstate, the suburbs and Chicago. 

Bringing about change requires seeing clearly what others do not yet perceive. To move forward we must see paths and obstacles that may or may not allow a new pattern to occur. The key to change is change of vision, seeing a familiar image and altering it by shifting its pattern, finding new connections, or creating new expectations. This is like looking through a kaleidoscope. A kaleidoscope permits you to see multiple reflections of a given image. A kaleidoscope provides variations on the original pattern. 

The General Assembly, the State Board of Education, and local large unit school districts must be able to engage in conversations about how and why the current state finance plan must be improved. Even the slightest turn of the kaleidoscope can change an image. One need not alter the existing plan very much to create a significant difference.

For three years, using the vision provided by the current funding plan, LUDA districts, downstate, the suburbs and Chicago, have been able to realize the advantage of an increase in the GSA foundation level, full funding of categoricals, school construction grants, school maintenance grants and the ADA grant. While this is not an exhaustive list, it includes many of the major items that have benefited students of our districts. But, like the shifting of the kaleidoscope, we need to view the current plan from a different perspective. That perspective is delineated in the LUDA education and finance plan. 

Several themes that form the basis for the plan. One is an expectation of a high quality education system, joined to an accountability system that monitors student achievement. 

Another calls for a more efficient method of funding and proposes demandating many programs and giving local schools both the right and responsibility to offer programs that best meet the needs of the students in their communities while maintaining alignment with state standards. 

The theme of funding schools with greater efficiency, can be realized through reductions in mandates and categorical funding. LUDA believes that this efficiency can be achieved by refining the Illinois State Board of Education 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 vary from district to district. This allows the formula to account for district differences rather than an array of categorical initiatives. 

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, etc. 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 also incorporate many current categorical programs that address instructional needs 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, LUDA believes that this should be a separate categorical program with a reimbursement formula that is straight forward and objective with minimum state regulations. 

In addition, various non-instructional needs must be addressed), including transportation, food programs, technology and capital improvement and facility maintenance. A continued commitment to the construction program is critical to address the aging school infrastructure throughout the state. 

In addition, LUDA believes that the legislation developed to address life safety, capital improvement and operations needs to be passed by the general assembly in order to allow districts to renovate and maintain safe and productive school buildings to support a school's educational goals. 

The membership of LUDA believes that the current revenue system's reliance on property tax must be alleviated and a broad based, stable, progressive revenue system be incorporated. This system would allow districts local options to generate revenue in excess of the GSA, expand the use of income tax, raise the minimum tax rates necessary for districts to receive state aid, and equalize the tax rate for unit and dual districts.

Underlying all of these themes 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 the views of the fifty-four large unit districts as it relates to the finance components of the LUDA plan.