FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24, 2003
Line Item Veto Cuts Will Eliminate Statewide Education Services
The State Board of Education today directed Robert E. Schiller,
State Superintendent of Education, to take appropriate action
to bring the agency's expenditures for FY04 in line with available
appropriations. It will mean the elimination of 54 positions
in the agency.
"As much as we would like to provide these services,
the truth is we no longer have the resources or capacity to
offer them," said Dr. Janet Steiner of Carlinville, board
chair. "The very specific cuts contained in the Governor's
line item vetoes were made without our agency's input. They
mean we have to eliminate the jobs of the people who manage
these programs."
Today's cuts - which will go into effect no later than August
8 --come on the heels of a previous round of job elimination
announced on June 19 by ISBE is response to appropriation
level approved by the General Assembly and sent to the Governor.
The Governor's line item vetoes, announced in July, cut another
$4 million from the administrative operations lines of the
ISBE budget, resulting in the program and oversight cuts directed
today by the state board.
Since January, 2003, as a result of these two rounds of position
cuts and the state's Early Retirement Initiative, ISBE headcount
has dropped by almost 25 percent.
In addition, the agency has in recent months reduced operating
costs by canceling or reducing about $9 million in contracts,
freezing management salaries for two years, cutting travel
and the purchase of commodities and reducing office space
in Springfield by 8,000 square feet.
"It is unfortunate that Illinoisans will lose education
services and program oversight," Steiner said. "The
state budget is in a difficult situation and we understand
the reasons behind the Governor's decision to eliminate administrative
funding. Make no mistake, though: these cuts will eliminate
programs, not just administrative spending."
The programs most seriously affected by the cuts are:
Certification of teachers, particularly services provided
to meet the needs of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS);
GED (High School Equivalency exam) testing, which served
almost as many as 40,000 candidates yearly;
Non-public school recognition process, whose elimination
will create difficulties for nonpublic students applying
for college or for Illinois Student Assistance Commission
awards and scholarships. It could also make it impossible
for some non-public schools to participate in Illinois High
School Association athletic events.
Private Business and Vocational Schools (PBVS) oversight;
Numerous state and federal grants, but particularly grants
in the areas of Early Childhood and Career Technical Education,
where ISBE oversight of the use of grants funds will be
curtailed; and
Health, Life, Safety program, which reviews school building
safety issues.
CERTIFICATION: These cuts flow from the Governor's
veto of almost $2 million from the Teacher Certification Fund
and the ISBE Regional Services line. The cuts, which eliminate
20 of 46 positions in the division, will require ISBE to stop
functioning as the Regional Office of Education (ROE) for
Chicago, a role that ISBE filled in part to provide certification
and testing for Chicago teachers. The results will be a delay
in the hiring of teachers, administrators and substitutes
for CPS. The cuts also will greatly delay the processing of
statewide teacher certification, extending the process to
about seven months. A veto of $240,000 will also jeopardize
the Administrators' Academy program, which provides management
and leadership training for school administrators. New administrator
certificate renewal requirements went into effect on July
1, essentially doubling the need for Academy courses and the
need for updated certification.
GED SERVICES: The veto of about $1.25 million to the
ISBE Regional Services line will cause regional GED services
and testing will end unless the current $35 fee charged participants
is doubled. As many as 40,000 candidates take the GED annually,
with an estimated 18,000 in Cook County alone. The line item
veto of this service will result in the closing of 71 official
test sites and 81 addendum sites, as well as the interruption
of issuance of GED transcripts and certificates. "The
cuts impact those who can afford it the least," said
Beverly Turkal of Robinson, board vice-chair. "But we
cannot conceive of continuing these services without a way
to pay for them." Through FY03, funds to operate the
testing program were received in the form of application ($35),
retest ($5-30), and transcript fees ($2) from GED candidates.
Any excess costs are absorbed by the Regional Offices of Education.
NONPUBLIC SCHOOL RECOGNITION: This program helps assure
the comparability of grades and course offerings in non-public
school with those offered in public schools. The cuts, which
flow from the Governor's veto of about $1.2 million from the
ISBE Standards, Assessment and Accountability line, mean ISBE
will no longer carry out the function of registering and recognizing
the state's 1400 non-public schools (including Catholic, Lutheran
and other private institutions). Among other thing ISBE recognition
is needed for non-public schools to participate in IHSA-sanctioned
interscholastic academic and sports competitions (per IHSA
constitution, Sec. 1.210). Such recognition is and aid or
requirement to entrance to many colleges or acceptance to
most military training programs and expedites student transfers.
It is a voluntary program in which 800 non-public schools
currently have sought and received ISBE recognition.
PRIVATE BUSINESS AND VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS (PBVS): The
Standards, Assessment and Accountability cuts also mean the
agency will no longer function in the role of registering
and recognizing Private Business and Vocational Schools (PBVS),
including some from out of state that recruit and collect
fees in Illinois. ISBE currently has more than 200 schools
registered and recognized as operating legally within the
state of Illinois. Most (nearly 150) are in the Chicago area
and collar counties. At least 25 are from out of state (which
recruit students from Illinois and/or collect fees from Illinois
students).
In addition to registering these private schools (such as
computer schools, dental career schools, massage and paralegal
study schools), ISBE processes requests for transcripts or
student complaints. Additionally, ISBE is the repository for
schools that go out of operation. Currently, those records
total as many as six million records on students, finances,
etc. The agency is required by law to keep such records for
50 years. The budget cuts eliminate ISBE staff that maintains
the records and processes requests for them.
GRANTS OVERSIGHT: In addition, the cuts will make
it more difficult for the agency to oversee the way school
districts use federal and state grants, particularly in the
area of Career and technical Education, where a cut of $415,000
will eliminate two-thirds of the staff in FY05, and in Early
Childhood, where a $215,000 veto will eliminate three of five
employees overseeing the grants.
HEALTH, LIFE, SAFETY: A veto of $420,000 in the area
of School Construction Services will mean the elimination
of five of seven employees who work with Regional Offices
of Education to review school building safety issues. This
process will be greatly reduced and delayed, affecting school
districts' ability to receive state money to improve building
safety, and ending onsite reviews by ISBE for fire safety,
soundness of buildings and general inspection.
ISBE's function is to ensure taxpayers that their state and
federal dollars are being spent appropriately," Steiner
said. "With staff reductions, we will no longer be able
to guarantee the expected high level of assurance, and Illinois
taxpayers and consumers will lose the protection provided
by these programs," she said.
View a detailed description of the effect on agency programs
at: http://www.isbe.net/news/pdf/staff_reductions_plan_072203.pdf
View a graph of the agency headcount from FY85 to FY03 at:
http://www.isbe.net/news/pdf/yearly_headcount_graph.pdf
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