Page 7 - Superintendents Toolkit 2013

Budget/Cost Shift
Resources:
 Illinois public schools vs.
CPS for funding issues
 IASA sample spreadsheet
for school budget
overview
 Education Funding
PowerPoint
 Breakdown of FY12 GSA
 ISBE overview of General
State Aid funding
 ISBE history of GSA
funding
 ISBE history of Mandated
Categoricals funding
 EFAB calls for GSA
foundation level increase
to $8,762
 State pension drain
expected to hit schools,
government operations
 Illinois’ Economic and
Fiscal Policy Report
 Public School Funding in
Illinois
8. The cash reserves that school districts have built up by
being good stewards are a school district’s only safety
net when it comes to state budget cuts, late state
payments or unexpected expenses.
9. Many of the reserves are limited by law in the ways they
can be used, with some reserved expressly for things like
building projects and torts.
10. Once the cash reserves are drained, the only options left
for school districts are to raise local property taxes – if
that is even possible – or to cut staff and programs even
further than they already have been cut.
11. The real impact of those cuts are things that affect the
quality of education for children, including:
 Larger class sizes
 Fewer course offerings
 Longer bus rides
 Inability to implement new technology or programs
 Elimination of extracurricular programs
(Continued from page 6)