Smarter schools for Illinois

In our minds, we are generous to our schoolchildren. And, to a point, we are. Last year we paid $20 billion in taxes to support education in Illinois, in the hope that our young people would flourish in excellent public schools. And, to a point, they did.

Broader excellence is within sight. This state has so many educators, so many schools, of which it can be proud. And it could be proud of so many more, from our cities to our suburbs to our rural communities.

Conventional wisdom dictates that the relative affluence or distress of those communities tells us which Illinois schools need help and which don't. Not so. Our impoverished schools pose enormous challenges. But they're not the only ones. Educators in virtually every school across this state need more support to do the jobs being asked of them.

The way we fund those schools divides us into warrior tribes. The way we fund those schools is ... inadequate.

We're not spending enough dollars. And we're not getting enough for the dollars we spend.

As is, this exchange--dollars invested for performance displayed--doesn't serve our children as well as it should and comfortably could.

Moving public education in Illinois from here to excellence would help the one-third of our students who fail to meet even the most basic, minimum standards, and who risk falling further behind. But make no mistake: a better education system would benefit students in every public classroom from Zion to Cairo.

This is the time to reform how Illinois finances its schools. This is also the time to reform how school districts spend that money. Today, the Tribune launches a series of editorials that will explain exactly how that can be done.

Smart Illinois politicians of both major parties know that continued reliance on rising property taxes to carry the bulk of education costs only invites the kind of voter revolt that makes schools a public enemy.

Many of those politicians also sense a moment of opportunity in Illinois' prosperous economy. It's fashionable to badmouth this state's climate for businesses and workers. But slowly climbing state tax receipts suggest that the Illinois economy is healthy enough to take a fresh look at the state's options and responsibilities.

This editorial page usually expresses skepticism about tax increases. But we will argue in this series that there is a substantial need to put school funding on a more stable footing. That will cost each of us more money--and allow us to insist that our schools deliver much more.

Another reason why this is the time: The culture of public education is changing for the better. The nationwide standards movement and federal No Child Left Behind law have introduced educators to a hitherto unknown accountability for what does, or doesn't, happen in their classrooms. Schools today operate under unprecedented pressure to perform.

Improved measures of what does and doesn't work in the classroom now allow creative educators to explore wide rivers of data about what helps students learn and perform. In Illinois and elsewhere, that research can empower families, communities, whole states, to expect specific outcomes in return for the tax dollars they contribute to public schools.

Put short, it wouldn't be difficult to raise the bar. Illinois educators now know better than ever before how to drive academic achievement for students all along the talent spectrum. The question is whether those educators have the resources to improve student achievement--and the willingness to reform a school system handicapped by the way things always have been.

As stakeholders in education, all of us citizen-taxpayers understand what we want: world-class instruction for our progeny. A better shot at competing in a global economy. And the business community that is hoping to employ those children understands what it needs: a workforce prepped to compete in the age of knowledge.

Right now, though, there's an imbalance. The demands made of our schools continue to surge, yet we fail to provide the necessary money for them to meet those mandates.

Consider: Most state governments foot about half of the tab for public education. Property taxes and other local taxes cover much of the rest, with 7 to 10 percent chipped in by the federal government.

In Illinois, though, state aid accounts for less than 34 percent of school costs. The resulting overreliance squeezes businesses and homeowners. Local school districts wind up with profoundly inequitable amounts of money per pupil.

These editorials will address three questions: