As part of the Fund Illinois Futures Coalition, a diverse group of more than 200 superintendents, education advocates and community leaders, Berwyn South School District 100 Superintendent Stan Fields and Board President Robert Pauly have endorsed the General Assembly’s education budget for the upcoming school year which targets some state funds toward the school districts most in need that have borne the brunt of funding cuts.

The education budget filed (HB3763) would reduce the level of proration by funding the general education funds at 92 percent as compared with the 87 percent this past year.

Importantly, the budget proposal would also set aside $85 million to cap the cut, meaning no district will lose more than $230 per student. As it stands, Illinois public schools – and students – are the most inequitably funded in the nation. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has the authority to end the regressive practice of proration and put in place a capped per-pupil cut as part of next year’s education budget. The ISBE Board will make a determination on how to handle proration at its June 17 meeting in Oswego.