SPRINGFIELD - In response to the Illinois State Board of Education vote today to recommend the minimal required allocation in funding under the evidence-based formula, President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Chicago Teachers Union, Stacy Davis Gates, issued the following statement:
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“The recommendation from the state board of education is not what is needed to meet this moment and we are certain it will change as others in the Assembly take up the urgent need for a tax plan that makes the ultra-wealthy who can afford it pay more to support our schools and services.
The Governor and General Assembly can no longer ignore the record number of funding requests made this year nor the impact of not delivering the $3 billion owed to Illinois’ students. Students in various parts of the state are going without meals, without their special education needs being met, without counselors, extra-curriculars, sports, and even without heat and hazard-free facilities. Educators in some districts are working second jobs just to make ends meet. All of that is apart from and before the impact of Trump’s cuts.
With federal attacks intensifying — including the dismantling of the Department of Education, the on-going occupation of our towns by federal agents, and the denial of federal funds for education — Illinois cannot rely on Washington to be a trusted partner.
We must act now to adopt the solutions we’ve seen Governors champion in other states. Governor Pritzker must close the $3 billion gap and Trump-proof our schools immediately — not through more cuts, but adding on top of the ISBE recommendation and by taxing the ultra-wealthy who benefit from Trump-era tax breaks. Massachusetts’s 4% surtax on millionaires generated nearly $6B billion for public services since its passage — Illinois can do the same. Equity isn’t optional and there’s no better investment a state can make than in its children. Every child deserves a quality public school — and that starts with full funding, not continued delays.
The Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) represents 105,000 teachers and paraprofessionals in PreK-12 school districts throughout Illinois, faculty and staff at Illinois’ community colleges and universities, public employees under every statewide elected constitutional officer, and retirees.
