11
School board member pedals across
Illinois to support public schools
By Michael Chamness
IASA Communications Director
Wayne Tate loves to ride his bike. He also is a
big supporter of public schools. And he is combining
those two of his favorite things as he bikes his way
across the state to raise money for his school district
and to help spread the news about the funding plight
of public schools in Illinois.
“I’m calling it ‘Biking 4 Books’ and I really want to
help raise awareness about what school districts in
Illinois are facing,” said Tate, who just began his
fourth term as a school board member in Marion
Community Unit District 2, serving as board president
for part of that time. “I did a ride for the Rotary Club
nine years ago during the celebration of the Lewis
and Clark Expedition. This time I wanted to do
something for schools.”
He kicked off his bike tour of the state on
September 28 at the downtown square in Marion,
located in Williamson County in deep Southern
Illinois. He plans to go north up the eastern side of
the state, across the northern tier of counties and
back down the western side of the state to attend a
board meeting back in Marion on October 15. He
then will head up the middle of the state, culminating
at the State Capitol in Springfield during the October
22-24 Veto Session.
His trek will last
about three weeks,
cover more than
1,000 miles by
pedaling about 70
miles per day, and
take him to 101 of
the state’s 102
counties (all except
Cook,
where
Chicago has a
different
school
code and funding
code).
Tate’s “Biking 4
Books” mission is
two-fold. In addition
to
raising
awareness
about
the importance of restoring the General State Aid
funding for schools, which has been cut by 11
percent the past couple of years, he also is
attempting to raise $100,000 for the Marion school
district to purchase Chromebooks for students.
The project has its own website at
where donors can pledge an
amount per mile or just make a donation for the
Marion fund-raising effort. You also can sign up to
receive Tate’s daily blog of his trip. Tate is paying
expenses for the trip itself out of his own pocket. He
hopes to be hosted overnight at some stops and also
plans to stay at campgrounds. Readers also can
track Tate’s trip on the website as he plans to write a
daily blog.
Tate said he plans to stop at school districts in
the 101 counties to collect first-hand information
about the impact the state funding cuts are having
and to rally support for restoring General State Aid.
He also hopes to speak with state senators and
representatives along the way.
So what exactly prompted Tate to hop on his bike
and pedal his way around the state?
“I guess people could say the idea came from a
strange mind,” he said. “But public education is so
important to the future of our communities and our
state, and schools just cannot afford to make more
cuts. If this ride helps draw more attention to this
problem then it will have been worth it.”
“I’m calling it
‘Biking 4 Books’ and
I really want to help
raise awareness
about what school
districts in Illinois are
facing.”
- Wayne Tate, member
of the Marion School
Board
School Board member Wayne Tate left from Marion
on September 28 to begin a 1,000-mile bike tour of
Illinois.
