ISBE budget
At the June 24 board meeting, the Illinois State Board of Education passed a recommended budget for FY 2011. The combination of bills this year gives us flat funding for general student aid of $4.6 billion and for mandated categorical funding of $1 billion. For higher education, the money allotted for operations remains the same this year as last at $1 billion.
An additional $371 million is appropriated to ISBE for grants to schools in SB 1215 (Trotter, D-Chicago/Madigan, D-Chicago). That comes to a total of $6.9 billion for the fiscal year, $367 million less than the total grant money for last year, or approximately the $300 million cut we’ve been expecting.
In addition, the Governor has access to an additional $194.1 million that he could use at his discretion to restore many of the ISBE programs that had to be eliminated or reduced because of the education cuts. The ISBE board agreed to accept that money if it’s offered.
Much is still uncertain, given that Gov. Quinn can withhold money from various state agencies to manage the state’s cash flow. The governor can hold back approximately 20 percent of the total appropriations.
What’s Next
The General Assembly will reconvene for the first week of the veto session Nov. 16-18. The House will reconvene for the second week of veto session Nov. 29-Dec. 1; while the Senate will reconvene Nov. 30-Dec. 2.
Illinois Education Association is an association of more than 130,000 members composed of Illinois elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty and staff, educational support professionals, retired educators and college students preparing to become teachers.
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