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Education Desk
The Education Desk is our education blog focusing on key areas of news coverage important to the state and its improvement. Evidence of public policy performance and impact will be reported and analyzed. We encourage you to engage in commenting and discussing the coverage of education from pre-natal to Higher Ed.Dusty Rhodes curates this blog that will provide follow-up to full-length stories, links to other reports of interest, statistics, and conversations with you about the issues and stories.About - Additional Education Coverage00000179-2419-d250-a579-e41d385d0000

Education Funding Plan Passes Senate, Headed To Governor

Illinois State Capitol
NPR Illinois

The Illinois Senate has approved a new system for funding schools that will reduce large disparities between wealthy and poor districts.

Legislators voted 38-13 on Tuesday to approve the plan that passed the House on Monday. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has said he'll sign the bill quickly to get state money to more than 800 districts that have been waiting for funding for the new school year.

Lawmakers have tried for decades to overhaul a school funding formula that's considered the least equitable in the U.S.

The new plan provides more money to all school districts. It also provides $75 million for a tax credit for people who donated to private school scholarships. That drew criticism from teacher unions, some school officials and lawmakers. 

 The Latest: Mixed reactions to Illinois school funding plan

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - School superintendents across Illinois are giving a proposed school funding overhaul mixed reviews.

The plan that will increase aid to all of the state's districts also includes a proposal to give tax credits to people who donate to private school scholarships. The Illinois House has approved the plan, which the Senate is poised to consider Tuesday.

Superintendent Edwin Shoemate runs a roughly 515-student district in the southern Illinois community of Cobden. He says he's enthusiastic about the bipartisan compromise and his district will get roughly $180,000 more under the proposal. That means roughly three more teachers and reinstating art for elementary schools.

However, he and other superintendents don't like the private school tax-credit program.

Superintendent Andrea Evers in  Cairo, which has roughly 400 students, says talk of private school scholarship strays from the mission of addressing a public-school funding problem. 

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