Skeptical lawmakers review Blagojevich's education budget

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Members of the Illinois House, meeting in a rare "committee of the whole" Tuesday, grilled Gov. Rod Blagojevich's budget director about plans to shuffle the state's limited education dollars.

The House took the unusual step after frustrated members said they were unable to pin down the administration on specifics about the budget. The frustration was evident in the session, as lawmakers questioned the wisdom of some cuts and said local school officials dispute the administration's figures.

Lawmakers' questions ranged from simply pinning down exact budget figures -- a 20-minute task -- to challenging plans to cut funding for regional school superintendents, truancy and more.

Many lawmakers told budget director John Filan that, despite increases in general aid to schools, the governor's proposed cuts would hurt some districts.

"It really is a concern when poor school districts have to fight just to get back to the level they were at before," said Rep. David Miller, D-Calumet City.

But Filan defended the proposed education budget as the best that could be done when the state faces a deficit of roughly $5 billion.

By trimming administrative expenses and cutting grants for teacher training, technology, programs for gifted students and more, Blagojevich has been able to come up with $248 million to put into general state aid to schools.

That would raise the amount of spending per student by $250, which Filan argued gives schools more money to use wherever it is most needed.

"The governor proposed a way to do this in the context of a $5 billion budget deficit. That really has to be the starting point," Filan told lawmakers. "Our goal here is less administration, more money in the classroom."

Filan and lawmakers presented starkly different pictures of how the proposed budget would affect school districts.

Filan said only about one-quarter of the state's 980 districts would lose money -- mostly small amounts -- under the plan, and those losses would be covered by a one-time boost of $16 million the governor is promising.

But lawmakers said their local school officials say the losses are actually much deeper. They say that Blagojevich, who spent the day at his Chicago office, is not accounting for the loss of new money that districts had expected next year and built into their budgets.

'They will sink'

Glenn "Max" McGee, former state schools superintendent and now head of Wilmette School District 39, called the losses a "torpedo to the engine room" for many schools.

"They will sink," he said.

The state, for instance, says Decatur Public School District 61 would lose $219,000, which would be covered by the one-time extra money. But business manager Martin Getty said the district actually would lose $811,000 that it had counted on.

Getty said that because the governor delivered his budget address six weeks late, districts learned about the cuts after the deadline for laying off teachers for next year, giving them little flexibility.

Rep. Bill Black, a Danville Republican who led efforts to convene the special hearing, said he thought the session was worthwhile, although it was lightly attended by lawmakers.

Black said the hearing produced several ideas for trimming costs elsewhere so some of Blagojevich's less popular cuts could be restored. Possibilities include cutting an academy that trains teachers in math and science, a mentoring program for teachers and student testing that is not required by the federal government.