Lawmakers Pass School Aid

Illinois school districts will soon begin receiving the $560 million of additional operating aid included in the state’s fiscal 2008 budget following the General Assembly’s approval last week of a bill that permits the release of the funds.

Schools were to have begun receiving the additional funding levels by summer, but passage of the budget was delayed until mid summer as lawmakers bickered over spending levels with Gov. Rod Blagojevich. And then passage of a budget implementation bill needed to release the funds didn’t come until November.

The governor waited until early this month to take action on the bill and then issued an amendatory veto, making some technical changes that would speed up the release of special education funding also included in the bill. The changes, however, required lawmakers’ approval.

Under the legislation, the state’s foundation level used to determine a school district’s level of state aid will go up by $400 to $5,734 per student. About 816 districts will see an increase. The delay has strained the budgets of some school districts that included the additional revenue in their fiscal 2008 budgets to cover operational costs or close out looming deficits, leaving some to consider cutting costs or securing short-term borrowings or loans.

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