Evanston public school teachers say they are concerned about funding cuts after a rally in Springfield last week produced few results.
About 35 teachers from Evanston/Skokie District 65 and District 202 headed to Springfield on April 21 to join thousands of teachers and state employees from across Illinois for the Save Our Schools/Save Our State rally. The Responsible Budget Coalition organized the rally to protest depleted funding for public schools and to pressure lawmakers to take action in solving Illinois’ budget crisis.
Prior to the rally, Evanston teachers met with state Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-9th) to try to convince him to change his position on a bill that will help raise revenue by increasing the income tax by 2 percentage points. Schoenberg said he voted against the bill, House Bill 174, last year because of the size of the tax hike.
“It was too big, too broad and too permanent of a tax increase,” Schoenberg said.
The state Senate passed the bill last May, but the House has not approved the measure.
In addition to raising the income tax on individuals, the bill would also increase corporate income tax by 0.2 percentage points and expand the sales tax to 39 other consumer services. It would also provide tax relief to low-income families, double the property tax credit for homeowners and provide funding for various education programs.
Schoenberg is the vice chairman for both appropriations committees in the state Senate and is also a member of the revenue committee. Jean Luft, the president of D65’s Educators’ Council, said she and the teachers were hoping Schoenberg’s knowledge and involvement with the state’s finances could help them promote the bill.
“We made it very clear to him that he is a leader in his party and in the Senate,” Luft said. “We want him to talk to people, work on (the bill) and use his influence to have the funding for public schools.”
Luft said 29 teachers in D65 are going to lose their jobs next year, and the pre-kindergarten program is going to be reduced by about two-thirds due to lack of funding.
She said the cuts could have serious repercussions for many children.Schoenberg maintained his position on the issue.
“I’m well aware the state’s financial situation has subsequently worsened,” he said. “But I think the better solution is a greater effort to make significant reductions in spending that does not impact basic human needs.”
Several teachers said they have little hope the bill will make progress anytime soon.”(Illinois House Speaker Michael) Madigan might not even call it in the House until November,” said Jennifer Moran, a D65 pre-kindergarten teacher. “No one wants to raise taxes, especially with the elections coming up, but that says nothing for the next school year. We don’t have the luxury of waiting until November, because the kids start school at the end of August.”
Teachers expressed their disappointment with what they see as a lack of urgency in finding a solution to the issue. Meg Krulee, a second-grade teacher in D65, pointed out how quickly state legislators passed a pension reform bill in March that altered pension benefits for workers to be hired in the future and said she was disappointed at the disparity between the length of time taken to pass the pension bill and tax hike bill.
“You took six hours to pass that, but you can’t figure this out?” Krulee said. “Meanwhile, I’m sitting here, staring at the kids at the playground, wondering what is going to happen to us next year. There’s urgency when they want it, but how can there not be any urgency around an issue involving the future of our children?”[email protected]
