April 27--St. Charles School District 303 already has lost $330,000 in state funding and is bracing to lose more under a proposed redistribution formula introduced in the state senate.
"I suspect we won't have any clear direction from the state for some time," said Superintendent Don Schlomann. "The funding picture is clear in one regard, though. There's going to be less money."
This is the second recent attempt at changing how schools are funded. The first, Senate Bill 16 wasn't called for a vote in the House last fall. It would have increased the amount of state funding awarded to "winner" districts based on their financial need and ability to generate revenue through local property tax, but St. Charles would have been a "loser" district, officials said at the time.
In January, Senate Bill 1, or the School Funding Reform Act of 2015 was introduced and is slightly different. It would protect districts with higher concentrations of low-income students and districts with lower tax revenues.
If the bill passes, distribution would be determined by factors such as average school enrollment, daily attendance, special education enrollment and district poverty levels, said Seth Chapman, district assistant superintendent and chief financial officer. The district still would be in a losing position, he said, with the possibility of about $7.6 million less from the state over a three-year phase-in period.
If the bill becomes law, District 303 would receive just over $2 million of its state funding compared to the $9.7 million it received during the 2014-15 school year. The funding covered mandates such as bilingual education, special education services and personnel, special education summer school and transportation, among other areas.
This month, Gov. Bruce Rauner announced he'd restore $97 million to nearly 600 of the state's 800 school districts, with about one-third going to Chicago schools and the rest scattered among other districts. District 303 wasn't selected to receive any reimbursement.
The potential $7.6 million loss is calculated on the basis that the district receives all four of its quarterly payments for the school year. Schlomann said it's likely the district will receive just three of these payments from the state, which would mean a cut of up to 25 percent.
At the business services meeting last week, Schlomann told board members the district could build next year's budget three different ways: Assume state funding will remain the same, when it likely won't; build a worst-case scenario on state funding; or mark certain components as contingent on state funding.
"If we do this last scenario, it'll be a scenario based on not knowing anything until later on in the game," he said. "In the past, we've been able to reasonably expect what the state will give us. Sitting here today, I can't reasonably do that."
Board member Kathy Hewell said she was surprised to see the state funding cuts for mandated programs like special education, especially due to their "extreme costs."
"For us, this is a really devastating scenario," she said.
The board will revisit the state funding issue in May, though district officials don't expect to have any new information.
meltagouri@tribune.com
